baker
Related to baker: bakery
a baker's dozen
Thirteen; one more than a usual dozen (12). When Jacob went to the bakery to buy doughnuts for the office, he made sure to get a baker's dozen so he could sneak one to eat on the way to work.
See also: dozen
baker's half dozen
Half of a "baker's dozen" (13 rather than 12), thus, 7 rather than 6. The term "baker's dozen" to mean 13 originates from an 11th-century practice in which bakers would include an extra loaf of bread in a dozen so as to avoid facing penalties for selling underweight bread. The seven deadly sins are a baker's half dozen of things one should avoid in order to live a moral life.
See also: dozen, half
the butcher, the baker, the candlestick-maker
People of all ethnicities, professions, and socioeconomic classes. The aim of our program is to draw in and appeal to people from all walks of life—the butcher, the baker, the candlestick-maker, as the rhyme goes.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
a baker's dozen
thirteen. (Bakers often added an extra item to an order for a dozen.) We ended up with a baker's dozen each of socks and undershirts on our shopping trip.
See also: dozen
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
baker's dozen
Thirteen, as in The new bagel store always gives you a baker's dozen. The origins of this term are disputed. One theory is that in times when bread was sold by weight, bakers who short-weighted their customers were heavily fined, and for safety's sake they would sell thirteen loaves for the price of twelve. Another theory is that dealers purchasing bread from bakers were allowed by law to receive thirteen loaves for the price of twelve, the thirteenth representing their cut of profit. [Late 1500s]
See also: dozen
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
a baker's dozen
OLD-FASHIONEDA baker's dozen of things is thirteen of them. To help you decide where to go, we've picked out a baker's dozen of top events between April and September. Note: Bakers in medieval England (= England between 1000 and 1500) had a bad reputation for cheating their customers by selling loaves of bread that were too light. After laws were introduced to fix the standard weight of loaves, bakers began to add a thirteenth loaf to each dozen to make sure they were not breaking the law.
See also: dozen
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
a baker's dozen
thirteen.This expression arose from the former bakers' practice of adding an extra loaf to a dozen sold to a retailer, this representing the latter's profit.
See also: dozen
the butcher, the baker, the candlestick-maker
people of all kinds.This phrase comes from the traditional nursery rhyme Rub-dub-dub, Three men in a tub .
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
a baker’s ˈdozen
(old-fashioned) thirteenThis phrase comes from bakers’ old custom of adding one extra loaf to an order of a dozen (= twelve).See also: dozen
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
baker's dozen
Thirteen. The source of this term is a law passed by the English Parliament in 1266, which specified exactly how much a loaf of bread should weigh and imposed a heavy penalty for short weight. To protect themselves, bakers would give their customers thirteen loaves instead of twelve, and in the sixteenth century this came to be called “a baker’s dozen.”
See also: dozen
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- baker's dozen
- a baker's dozen
- a long dozen
- long dozen
- baker's half dozen
- banker
- a banker's dozen
- half a dozen
- by the dozen
- by the dozen(s)