from hunger

English

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Is this a calque from German or Yiddish?”)

Pronunciation

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Prepositional phrase

from hunger

1. (idiomatic) Of poor quality; tolerable only in desperate circumstances.

   She looked good, but as an actress she was strictly from hunger. [1]

   • 1939, Nathanael West, The Day of the Locusts, page 17:

     "That's the place for you, the San Berdoo. I live there so I ought to know. The owner's strictly from hunger. Come on, I'll get you fixed up swell."

   • 1959, Mordecai Richler, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz, page 159:

     The play went on and on with people shouting and using dirty language. The jokes were from hunger and there was only one sexy scene

   • 2007, Paula Marantz Cohen, Jane Austen in Scarsdale: Or Love, Death, and the SATs, page 70:

     This place is a dump. I mean your bathrooms are from hunger. Where's the Jacuzzi? Where's the 'his and her' sinks? Where's the towel warmer?

   • 2008, Paul M. Levitt, Come with me to Babylon, page 115:

     "The men in this hamlet are either married, or worn out, or ignorant, or religious zealots, or indigent." Esther was forced to agree that the boys in this town were from hunger, but said, "That's what marriage brokers are for...."

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see from,‎ hunger.

Usage notes

• Commonly used in the phrase strictly from hunger. Comparative and superlative use with more and most is possible, but very rare.