bite the hand that feeds you

Idioms & Phrases

bite the hand that feeds you

Show ingratitude, turn against a benefactor. For example, The college gave me a scholarship, so I shouldn't bite the hand that feeds me and criticize its hiring policies. Used about 600 b.c. by the Greek poet Sappho, this metaphor of a dog biting its master was first recorded in English in 1711.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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