bigger fish to fry

English

Etymology

An augmentative of other fish to fry.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Noun

bigger fish to fry (plural bigger fish to fry)

1. (idiomatic) A much more pressing issue to attend to.
   • 2018 December 6, Jessica Brown, “Thanks for the vegan idioms, Peta, but there are bigger fish to fry”, in The Guardian‎^[1], →ISSN:

     Thanks for the vegan idioms, Peta, but there are bigger fish to fry [title] Trying to enforce non-meaty alternatives to phrases like ‘bring home the bacon’ will only harm the veganism cause[.]

2. (idiomatic) A higher-valued result or target to reach.

Related terms

• other fish to fry

Translations

more pressing issues to attend to

• French: avoir d'autres chats à fouetter (verb: literally to have other cats to whip)

See also

• big picture
• bigger fish in the sea
• bird's-eye view
• gestalt
• gist
• grand scheme
• overview
• see the forest for the trees