loaf

Related to loaf: loaf around

half a loaf

Less than what is desired. This is the abbreviated version of the phrase "half a loaf is better than none." I know they're offering you less money than you'd hoped for, but it's a good job, so I think you should accept half a loaf.
See also: half, loaf

half a loaf is better than no bread

proverb Getting less than what one wants is better than getting nothing at all. I know they're offering you less money than you'd hoped for, but at least it's a good job—half a loaf is better than no bread.
See also: better, bread, half, loaf, no

half a loaf is better than no loaf

proverb Getting less than what one wants is better than getting nothing at all. I know they're offering you less money than you'd hoped for, but at least it's a good job—half a loaf is better than no loaf.
See also: better, half, loaf, no

half a loaf is better than none

proverb Getting less than what one wants is better than getting nothing at all. I know they're offering you less money than you'd hoped for, but at least it's a good job—half a loaf is better than none.
See also: better, half, loaf, none

loaf

1. slang One's head. The term comes from rhyming slang in which "loaf" is short for "loaf of bread," which rhymes with "head." Primarily heard in UK. She hit him on the loaf with her brolly and stormed off in a huff.
2. slang By extension, one's intelligence, common sense, and intellectual ability. Usually used in the phrase "use one's loaf." Primarily heard in UK. Come on, Dean, I know you can figure this out on your own. Use your loaf! Jenny finally remembered to bring the right books home to do her homework. I'm glad she's finally using her loaf.

loaf about

To waste time idly; to spend time doing little or nothing. Chris, quit loafing about and help me take out the trash! After the stressful week that I had, I'm looking forward to just loafing about the house for the weekend.
See also: loaf

loaf around

To waste time being idle; to spend time doing little or nothing. Quit loafing around and help me take out the trash! After the stressful week that I had, I'm looking forward to just loafing around the house for the weekend.
See also: around, loaf

loaf away

1. To be idle or slothful; to be totally inactive. I don't want you loafing away on this sofa for the whole weekend, young man! After a long week of work, there's nothing I like better than to loaf away for a while with some video games or movies.
2. To pass a certain amount or period of time by being very lazy or idle. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "loaf" and "away." Too many kids just loaf the summer away in front of their computers or televisions. In my 20s, I would spend every Friday and Saturday night at the bar with my friends, but now that I have kids, I just want to loaf away the evenings at home.
See also: away, loaf

loaf of bread

1. slang Dead. The term comes from rhyming slang in which "bread" rhymes with "dead." Primarily heard in UK. Don't worry, the informant will be a loaf of bread by the time Ray's finished with him.
2. slang One's head. The term comes from rhyming slang in which "bread" rhymes with "head." Primarily heard in UK. She hit him on the loaf of bread with her brolly and stormed off in a huff.
See also: bread, loaf, of

use (one's) loaf

slang To think logically, rationally, or with common sense; to use one's head. The phrase comes from rhyming slang in which "loaf" is short for "loaf of bread," which rhymes with "head." Primarily heard in UK, Australia. Come on, Dean, I know you can figure this out on your own. Use your loaf! Jenny finally remembered to bring the right books home to do her homework. I'm glad she's finally using her loaf.
See also: loaf, use
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

Half a loaf is better than none.

Prov. Getting only part of what you want is better than not getting anything. Fred: How did your court case go? Alan: Not good. I asked for $500, and the judge only awarded me $200. Fred: Half a loaf is better than none.
See also: better, half, loaf, none

loaf around

to waste time; to idle the time away doing almost nothing. Every time I see you, you are just loafing around. I enjoy loafing around on the weekend.
See also: around, loaf

loaf something away

to waste away a period of time. You have loafed the entire day away! He loafed away the entire day.
See also: away, loaf
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

half a loaf is better than none

Something is better than nothing, even if it is less than one wanted. For example, He had asked for a new trumpet but got a used one-oh well, half a loaf is better than none . This expression, often shortened, was already a proverb in 1546, where it was explicitly put: "For better is half a loaf than no bread."
See also: better, half, loaf, none
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

half a loaf is better than none

If you say that half a loaf is better than none, you mean that it is better to take what you can get, even if it is very little, than to risk having nothing at all. The reforms do not go as far as we wanted. Still, half a loaf is better than none. Note: Other words can be used instead of loaf and none. I'm very disappointed that there will only be one game, but half a loaf is better than no loaf, and we are happy that at least we will be playing once. Is half a step towards democracy better than no step at all?
See also: better, half, loaf, none
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

half a loaf

not as much as you want but better than nothing.
This phrase alludes to the proverb half a loaf is better than no bread , which has been in use since the mid 16th century.
See also: half, loaf

use your loaf

use your common sense. British informal
This expression probably comes from loaf of bread , rhyming slang for ‘head’.
See also: loaf, use
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

half a ˌloaf is better than ˈnone/no ˈbread

(saying) you should be grateful for something, even if it is not as good, much, etc. as you really wanted; something is better than nothing: They’re only going to agree to some of this, but half a loaf is better than none, I suppose.
See also: better, bread, half, loaf, no, none
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

half a loaf is better than none

Something is better than nothing, even if it is not all you wanted. This expression was already a proverb in John Heywood’s 1546 collection. G. K. Chesterton repeated it in his essay, What’s Wrong with the World: “Compromise used to mean that half a loaf was better than no bread. Among modern statesmen it really seems to mean that half a loaf is better than a whole loaf.”
See also: better, half, loaf, none
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • half a loaf
  • half a loaf is better than no bread
  • half a loaf is better than no loaf
  • half a loaf is better than none
  • half a loaf is better than none/no bread
  • much less
  • even/much/still less
  • under (someone's or something's) shadow
  • take the path less traveled
  • traveled
References in periodicals archive
But while many of our grandmothers made their own bread to save money, the advent of factory baking means few of us nowadays have any idea how to cook a homemade loaf.
Time to bring home the bread; Nell Raven meets a double act determined to rekindle our passion for baking
"There is a huge interest in silicone muffin pans of any size or shape, and paper loaf pan sales have also been very strong."
PAN VENDORS GET RISE AS BREAD BAKING GAINS FAVOR
"I've been gigging with Peat Loaf for years and while we are used to performing in front of a big crowd, this was the most nerve-wracking by far.
He's a real dead ringer for Loaf.. BGT SCOT'S TRIBUTE ACT TO ROCKER Pete'd do anything for fame and fortune
Please enter "Meat Loaf" in the subject of your email.
COMPETITION: WIN tickets to The Meat Loaf Story at Whitley Bay
Peat Loaf is doing his 15th Meat Loaf Tribute and is setting stages alight around the world.
Peat Loaf lining up 'spooktacular' show
The loaf batters are pre-measured and deposited into paper-lined aluminum pans and flash frozen.
Chocolate lovers rejoice
The Lightly Seeded One [R] (800g) - a delicious loaf baked with a sprinkling of seeds and grains so it is just right for those who want a few seeds and grains in their bread
UK's first smooth seeded bread
Britain's farming industry produces more than 22 million tons of grain each year, but Caroline Spelman, the minister behind the department is unaware about the price of a loaf of bread.
UK's Food and Farming minister doesn't even know price of bread
[4] Using rolling pin, roll out half of dough into approximate 10-by-15-inch rectangle (you can skip this and just shape the dough into a loaf by hand, but I find it to be a heavier bread when finished).
Easy bread-making
Nasr's piece, titled "At Death's Door," is a video of a loaf of bread shot from inside a stove, detailing the moment it's placed inside as dough till it's cooked and ultimately flattened.
The taste of bread
I'm sure those frozen dinners sparked my quest for the perfect loaf, but I found few vegetarian loaf recipes until the late '60s.
Loafing around
Place one dough loaf on each end of a cookie sheet, and three dough loaves lengthwise in the middle.
Wholesome bread
A major problem faced by the bread-making industry is that the quality of different batches of flour can only be judged by using them to bake a loaf. Variability among flour batches can lead to costly wastage.
Optimize baking to reduce waste, costs
Due to hit UK shops next month, the soft-edged loaf is a response to demand from children who don't like sandwiches with crusts on them.
Hovis change our daily bread
INGREDIENTS: 560g lean shoulder of pork 1tsp mixed herbs 1 /2tsp smoked paprika 335g Cumberland sausage 2-3 long leeks 200g prunes (remove the stones) Zest and juice of 1 /2 orange 2 capfuls brandy 3 medium eggs 100ml whipping cream 2 large cloves of garlic, crushed 4-5 fresh sage leaves finely chopped CHEF'S TIP: Use a non-stick 9in loaf pan
EATING IN: TERRINE OF PORK STUFFED WITH BRANDIED PRUNES