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farm
fat farm
A slightly derogatory term for a clinic, treatment center, or resort that is aimed at helping people lose weight. My weight ballooned after the inactivity that resulted from my surgery, so I'm heading to the fat farm this summer to try to get it back to normal.
bought the farm
Died. Did you hear that old Walt bought the farm? What a shame—at least he got to spend 92 years on this earth.
funny farm
Derogatory slang for a psychiatric hospital or mental health facility. If I don't take a vacation soon, I'll be headed to the funny farm.
buy the farm
and buy itSl. to die; to get killed. (The farm is a burial plot.) I'll pass through this illness; I'm too young to buy the farm. He lived for a few hours after his collapse, but then he bought it.
farm someone out
1. [for someone in control] to send someone to work for someone else. I have farmed my electrician out for a week, so your work will have to wait. We farmed out the office staff.
2. to send a child away to be cared for by someone; to send a child to boarding school. We farmed the kids out to my sister for the summer. We farmed out the kids.
farm something out
1. to deplete the fertility of land by farming too intensely. They farmed their land out through careless land management. They farmed out their land.
2. to send work to someone to be done away from one's normal place of business; to subcontract work. We farmed the assembly work out. We always farm out the actual final assembly of the finished units.
sell the farm
and bet the farmFig. to liquidate all one's assets in order to raise money to invest in something. It's a risky proposition. I wouldn't bet the farm on it.
You can bet the farm (on someone or something).
Rur. You can be certain of someone or something. This is a good investment. You can bet the farm on it. You can bet the farm that Joe is gonna get that job.
bet the farm
to risk everything you have because you are certain of something bet the ranch No matter how confident you are in the future, you should never bet the farm on one idea.
farm out something (to somebody)
also farm something out (to somebody) to give work or responsibilities to other people Magazines often farm out articles to freelance writers. If you can't finish the reports by next week, you should farm them out.
farm out somebody (to somebody)
also farm somebody out (to somebody) to give someone to someone else who will take care of them She farmed out her children to her brother for two weeks.
bet the farm/ranch
(American) to spend almost all the money you have on something that you think might bring you success (often + on ) TV networks are obviously willing to bet the ranch on special sports events - they paid millions to broadcast the Olympics.
factory farming
a system for producing eggs, meat, and milk quickly and cheaply by keeping animals in small closed areas and giving them food which makes them grow quickly They've launched a campaign against the abuses of factory farming. (mainly British)
a funny farm
(humorous) a hospital for people who are mentally ill
Usage notes: This expression may be offensive in some situations.
If things get much worse they'll be carrying me off to the funny farm. buy it
1. Suffer a severe reversal, as in If they can't raise the money in time, they'll buy it. [Slang; mid-1900s]
2. Be killed; die. For example, By the time we could get to the hospital, he had bought it. Originating during World War I as military slang, this term later was extended to peacetime forms of death. A later slang equivalent is buy the farm, dating from about 1950. For example, He'll soon buy the farm riding that motorcycle. According to J.E. Lighter, it alludes to training flights crashing in a farmer's field, causing the farmer to sue the government for damages sufficient to pay off the farm's mortgage. Since the pilot usually died in such a crash, he in effect bought the farm with his life.
buy the farm
farm out
Assign something to an outsider; subcontract something. For example,
The contractor was so busy he had to farm out two jobs to a colleague, or
When their mother was hospitalized, the children had to be farmed out to the nearest relatives . This term originally referred to letting or leasing land. Today it usually refers to subcontracting work or the care of a dependent to another. In baseball it means "to assign a player to a lesser (
farm) league," as opposed to a
big league. [Mid-1600s]
fat farm
A clinic or resort where people go to lose weight, as in She spends all her vacations at a fat farm but it hasn't helped so far. This is a somewhat derisive term for such an establishment. [Colloquial; 1960s]
farm out
v.1. To distribute or delegate something, especially a task or responsibility: The camp counselor farmed out the cleaning tasks to the campers. We farmed the chores out to the kids.
2. Baseball To demote a major-league player to a minor-league team: The coach decided to farm the catcher out until he improved. The struggling pitcher was farmed out yesterday.
buy it
buy the farm
tv. to die; to get killed. (The farm may be a grave site. No one knows the origin.) I’m too young to buy the farm.
funny farm
n. an insane asylum; a psychiatric hospital. He’s really weird. They’re going to send him to the funny farm.
buy it
Slang To be killed.
buy the farm
Slang To die, especially suddenly or violently.
buy the farm
Die. This phrase comes from the military: members of the armed forces were issued insurance policies. Many servicemen speculated that when they returned to civilian life, they would buy a farm back home or pay off the mortgage on one that they or their parents owned. To die was literally to retire, and so combat victims were said to have “bought the farm.” Other phrases that mean “to die” are “cash in your chips” (as if checking out of a poker game), “fall off the perch” (an expiring caged bird), and “go South” (someone now living up North returning to his or her native soil).