Join In
Twitter
YouTube
Weekly Newsletter
Libraries
A-Z Grammatical Terms
A-Z Confused Words
FAQs by Writers
A-Z Awkward Plurals
Punctuation Lessons
Common Mistakes
(ordered by seriousness) ESL Vocabulary Lists Parts of Speech Lists A-Z Idioms and Proverbs Tests and Games Top Tip Install a grammar checker
for your browser
(ordered by seriousness) ESL Vocabulary Lists Parts of Speech Lists A-Z Idioms and Proverbs Tests and Games Top Tip Install a grammar checker
for your browser
Never Bite the Hand That Feeds You (Origin)
What Is the Origin of the Saying "Never Bite the Hand That Feeds You"?
The term "never bite the hand that feeds you" means don't act negatively towards a person who provides for you. (It is also commonly seen as "Don't bite the hand that feeds you.")Table of Contents
- English Proverbs and Idioms Test
- More Proverbs, Sayings, and Idioms

Examples of Use:
- Don't shout at Anne! She's letting you stay at her place for nothing. Never bite the hand that feeds you!
- Be kind to your boss in your speech. Don't bite the hand that feeds you.
- Did you steal that money from the family who took you in? Where are you going to stay now? Never bite the hand that feeds you.
- "We set ourselves to bite the hand that feeds us."
- "Having looked to government for bread, on the first scarcity, they will turn and bite the hand that fed them."
Previous and Next Sayings
English Proverbs and Idioms Test
More Proverbs, Sayings, and Idioms
Help Us Improve Grammar Monster
- Do you disagree with something on this page?
- Did you spot a typo?
Find Us Quicker!
- When using a search engine (e.g., Google, Bing), you will find Grammar Monster quicker if you add #gm to your search term.
Next lesson >