Idiom
throw a bone to
Meaning
To provide support or assistance to, especially in one particular way or to a limited extent; to make a concession to.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“The boss threw me a bone by giving me an extra day.”
“He throws his younger brother a bone by letting him win the card game.”
“The store throws customers a bone by offering a small discount on old items.”
“The teacher knew the test was hard, so she threw the students a bone by removing the most difficult question.”
“The landlord refused to lower the rent, but he threw the tenants a bone by finally fixing the broken heater in the hallway.”
“After rejecting all my creative ideas, the director threw me a bone by letting me choose the music for the final scene.”
“Although the committee refused to approve the entire proposal, they threw the activists a bone by agreeing to fund a small portion of the project.”
Examples
simple
“The boss threw me a bone by giving me an extra day.”
“He throws his younger brother a bone by letting him win the card game.”
“The store throws customers a bone by offering a small discount on old items.”
contextual
“The teacher knew the test was hard, so she threw the students a bone by removing the most difficult question.”
“The landlord refused to lower the rent, but he threw the tenants a bone by finally fixing the broken heater in the hallway.”
“After rejecting all my creative ideas, the director threw me a bone by letting me choose the music for the final scene.”
complex
“Although the committee refused to approve the entire proposal, they threw the activists a bone by agreeing to fund a small portion of the project.”
Origin
The expression derives from the practice of offering a bone to a hungry dog as a source of nourishment. It alludes to the act of providing a small or peripheral concession to satisfy a demanding party, much as one might distract a canine with a scrap of food.
Key words
Related idioms
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