Tell me more ×
English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote -2 down vote favorite

What does the expression/idiom "feather your nest" mean? I see a lot of references to it but I can't seem to figure out its meaning.

share|improve this question
1  
Did you try googling? I found several references with a simple search. – simchona♦ Oct 21 '11 at 1:22
1  
Do you have a specific context in mind? If you take a look at definitions like these for feather one's own nest you'll see that it can refer to furnishing one's home as well as being selfish. – aedia λ Oct 21 '11 at 1:51
2  
It's often difficult to get a sense of the implications from google or a dictionary – mgb Oct 21 '11 at 3:20

closed as general reference by aedia λ, Hugo, z7sg Ѫ, kiamlaluno, waiwai933♦ Nov 15 '11 at 5:14

This question is too basic; it can be definitively and permanently answered by a single link to a standard internet reference source designed specifically to find that type of information. See the FAQ for guidance on how to improve it.

2 Answers

up vote 1 down vote accepted

"Feather your nest" means to make a profit from some activity.

But it implies that you acheived this because of your position or not entirely honestly. So a politician who make leaves office and then goes to work for a company who he had favored- not quite outright theft or bribery, but definitely suspect.

It comes from the sense of buying things to make your home or life (ie nest) more comfortable.

share|improve this answer
up vote 1 down vote

"Feathers" are a prime commodity that would make a (bird's) nest more comfortable than the average nest.

"Feathering one's nest" means making one's home or life in general fancier, or more comfortable than those of other similarly situated individuals, usually in the same neighborhood.

That's why it sometimes has "suspect" connotations referred to in Martin Beckett's answer (e.g. "How could 'one of us' live so much better?")

share|improve this answer

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.