feather your nest

feather your nest
   to provide for yourself at the expense of others
   Now standard English, with avian imagery.
   You can either do it by dishonesty:
    Mr Badman had feathered his nest with other men's goods and money. (Bunyan, 1680)
   or through unprincipled self-enrichment:
    [The English] have planned Germany's subjugation with an eye to feathering their own nest. (Goebbels, 1945, in translation)
   or, in former times, by marrying a rich widow.

How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms. . 2014.

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  • feather your nest — phrase to obtain money for yourself, usually by doing something dishonest Thesaurus: to earn or to get moneysynonym Main entry: feather * * * feather your (own) nest : to make yourself richer in a dishonest or improper way : to do things to… …   Useful english dictionary

  • feather your nest — feather (your) (own) nest to make a lot of money for yourself. While the CEO feathered his own nest, his company was firing employees by the hundreds. Usage notes: usually said about someone who takes unfair advantage of others Related vocabulary …   New idioms dictionary

  • feather your nest — make a comfortable place, prepare your future place, nest egg    Charles became a professor and began to feather his nest at the University of Manitoba …   English idioms

  • feather your nest — to obtain money for yourself, usually by doing something dishonest …   English dictionary

  • feather own nest — feather (your) (own) nest to make a lot of money for yourself. While the CEO feathered his own nest, his company was firing employees by the hundreds. Usage notes: usually said about someone who takes unfair advantage of others Related vocabulary …   New idioms dictionary

  • feather own nest — feather (your) own nest to dishonestly use your position at work to get a lot of money for yourself. What angers him most of all is the implication that he has been feathering his own nest …   New idioms dictionary

  • feather your own nest — feather your (own) nest : to make yourself richer in a dishonest or improper way : to do things to increase your own wealth, comfort, etc. She was accused of feathering her own nest with the company s money. • • • Main Entry: ↑feather feather… …   Useful english dictionary

  • feather your own nest — feather (your) (own) nest to make a lot of money for yourself. While the CEO feathered his own nest, his company was firing employees by the hundreds. Usage notes: usually said about someone who takes unfair advantage of others Related vocabulary …   New idioms dictionary

  • feather your own nest — feather (your) own nest to dishonestly use your position at work to get a lot of money for yourself. What angers him most of all is the implication that he has been feathering his own nest …   New idioms dictionary

  • feather your own nest — If someone feathers their own nest, they use their position or job for personal gain …   The small dictionary of idiomes

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