What is "wolfish appetite"? The meaning and interpretation of the expression

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:41

This article will address the question of what a wolfish appetite is. Examples of the use of this expression in speech will also be given.

What does "wolfish appetite" mean

This expression has several meanings. As a phraseological unit - a stable combination of words - it can be used to describe a person (another living being) with an increased appetite. This is usually said about those who eat greedily, hastily, a lot.

But sometimes the expression "wolfish appetite" interpretation is not at all connected with the absorption of food. A new meaning appeared as a result of transferring the description of the process, when the phrase means greed and insatiability while eating, to a more general level - the very existence of a person. That is, the question “what is wolfish appetite” can be answered as follows: it is insatiability, greed and greed of a person, which manifests itself in everything. Usually this idiom is used with a negative connotation.

But, as it turns out, in medicine there is a disease with that name. The meaning and interpretation of the term "wolfish appetite" in this sense is synonymous with an ailment called bulimia.

As you work, so you eat

Somehow it happened thatthe wolf in people is associated with an evil beast, always hungry, merciless and insidious. But in fact, all predators live the way nature intended for them. They hunt in order to feed themselves and leave their offspring, and not for pleasure. And there is absolutely no deceit in their behavior.

The proverb “Feet feed the wolf” just indicates that these animals get food by work. And, alas, they do not manage to eat every day. This is probably why wolves eat with great appetite. They also need to restore the energy spent in search of food.

The method of transferring a behavioral stereotype to a person allows the question: "What is a wolfish appetite?" answer: “This is the hunger of a hard-working and very hungry individual.”

The desire to eat is natural for all living beings

Why the wolf was chosen as the main character in the expression that describes severe hunger is not clear. After all, all living beings that have been deprived of food for a long time eat greedily. It is enough to see how a kitten picked up on the street chokes on food or a calf chokes on milk, weaned from its mother and unable to drink milk from a bowl for a long period.

But it was the wolf that became the animal that was taken as a prototype in this phrase. Probably the reason for this was the fact that the wolf does not always have the opportunity to get enough. Indeed, in its natural habitat it is quite difficult for him to find food for himself. It is difficult to defeat large herbivores alone, but in a herd of elk, eitherroe deer have to be divided into many. It's hard to get enough of small animals.

Inability to eat beautifully

Sometimes the phrase is used not in relation to a hungry person, but as a description of the process of eating food itself. Everyone knows that predators do not chew their food. Wolves tear off or bite off a piece of the right size. They then swallow it without chewing.

Those who managed to observe this picture compared the behavior of a predator while eating with the absorption of food by some people who do not care about the impression they make on those present. Looking at someone who hastily grabs food and swallows large pieces without chewing, they say: “That's what a wolfish appetite is!” The meaning of this expression in this context is a comparison of the process of a sloppy and hasty process of eating food with little or no chewing by a person with the consumption of food by a predator, which simply does not know how to do it otherwise.

The Story of the Gray Wolf

The father brought a little puppy into the house at the beginning of spring. The man went to the forest for brushwood, and returned with a sack moving in his hands. But where did the puppy come from in the forest? The kids didn't know that.

“It's a wolf cub,” the father explained. “His mother was shot by hunters. His brothers and sister died of starvation without waiting for a nurse. Only this one survived.

- He must be hungry, - said the mother and put on the floor a bowl of stew, into which she crumbled bread.

The cub hobbled uncertainly to the dish, attracted by the appetizing aroma of meatsoup, carefully sniffed. And then suddenly greedily attacked the food, champing and choking. His tail was at first pressed to his hind legs, and his back arched warily. The hair on the back of the neck stuck out like hedgehog needles.

– Look at how you eat… No wonder they say about a starving person that he has a wolfish appetite! mother chuckled.

- Yes, they say in vain, by the way, - added the father. - Wolves are no worse than any other living creatures. Evil and cruel, nature itself makes them be. But we will feed our Gray in plenty, and bring up the way it is supposed to bring up a domestic dog, and you will see that a wolf can be faithful and devoted to a person. And there will never be a wolf for the future - only as much as he should.

So it happened. A year later, a beautiful and intelligent wolf grew out of Gray, very similar to a German shepherd. He guarded the flock of sheep so that no one dared to come close to him. And he himself never coveted a single, even the smallest lamb. And he ate Gray with feeling and dignity, as befits a pet that is fed regularly.

Here's the proverb about wolfish appetite! And the proverb “No matter how much you feed the wolf, but he always looks into the forest” can also be called into question after this story.

Greed is a human trait, not an animal trait

It is often said of an insatiably greedy individual - not necessarily for food - that he has a ravenous appetite. The meaning of the expression here is figurative. Attributing gluttony and greed to an animal, peopleuse the phrase, characterizing a person with immoderate desires in other areas of life. Phraseologism "wolfish appetite" in the context of describing a greedy person can mean a desire to have an excessively huge amount of money, jewelry, land - everything that has practical value.

In fact, in the animal kingdom, everything is different. If from birth a wolf is kept in such conditions when he constantly has food at the same time, then you can see that the animal will not eat more than it needs. And the wolf will not pounce on food. Gluttony and greed are more human than animal traits.

Myths about wolves

Why in fairy tales the wolf is always represented as a kind of dumb beast, no one can answer for sure. In fact, this animal is very intelligent. It is extremely difficult to catch him. They easily figure out where the hunter has set a trap, rarely fall into traps.

When driving a roe deer in herds, wolves use the talents of commanders: they do not just rush thoughtlessly after the victim, but they drive it to a place where they can easily cope with it. How do animals that do not have a language of communication manage to coordinate their actions? Here's another riddle.

It has long been observed that animals rarely attack for no reason. They are forced to do this either by hunger, or the need to protect their territory, offspring, or a threat to their own security. Yes, and wolves kill mostly sick, old, infirm animals. No wonder they were awarded the title of "orderliesforests". Thanks to them, cases of diseases are very rare among forest herbivores.

Speaking of wolf appetite, one important feature cannot be ignored. No matter how hungry this beast is, it will always coordinate its actions with the unspoken wolf laws, which are often also higher than human ones. Although this expression is also used in our language with a negative connotation, unfortunately…

But a person can kill another in order to take money or other valuables from him, not at all because of hunger. He can spend this money later on drinking, drugs, pleasures, to purchase luxury items for himself or his (his) beloved (chosen one).

Bulimia

And what is "wolfish appetite" from the point of view of medicine? It turns out that there is a disease associated with overeating, which is called kinorexia, or bulimia. In the people, it is called "wolf hunger." The patient consumes a huge amount of food to get rid of heaviness in the stomach, causes artificial vomiting, uses laxatives, but cannot get rid of the desire to eat.

This disease is classified as a nervous disorder. It is usually treated on an outpatient basis. And only in some special cases resort to inpatient treatment.

So, before you say something, comparing a man with a wolf, you should think: is it right? Is it offensive to an animal? Although this is, of course, a joke. Wolves don't care what they think about them.the man says. But for a person… Well, enough about people already, the article is about something else.