3 meanings
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1 —as in:
cannon fodder
Definition
people thought of as readily expendable to further a military campaign- She claims that Palestinians are used as cannon fodder in an attempt to destroy Israel.
fodder = people thought of as readily expendable to further a military campaign
- In the Iran-Iraq war, the ayatollahs sent children and civilians to the front-line as cannon fodder.
fodder = people thought of as readily expendable to further a military campaign
2 —as in:
fodder for discussion
Definition
people or things useful for a particular purpose- She uses the news as fodder for her world geography class.
fodder = people or things useful for a particular purpose
Other Uses (with this meaning)
- The new unemployment report will be used as campaign fodder by both candidates.
- 'His sod corn will be good for fodder this winter,' said grandfather encouragingly.Cather, Willa -- My Antonia
- The sheep for fodder follow the shepherdShakespeare -- Two Gentlemen of Verona
- His highest duty to fodder and water his horsesThoreau, Henry David -- Walden & on the Duty of Civil Disobedience
- "Bagheera spoke truth," he panted, as he nestled down in some cattle fodder by the window of a hut.Kipling, Rudyard -- The Jungle Book
- The fodder was placed on some staging erected above the stalls, so that it fell into the racks below without waste of labor or material.de Balzac, Honore -- The Country Doctor
- A man without his meat or a horse without his fodder is like a wet bow-string, fit for little.Doyle, Sir Arthur Conan -- The White Company
fodder = people or things useful for a particular purpose
3 —as in:
cattle fodder
Definition
food such as hay or straw that is given to domesticated animals- We have plenty of hay and fodder for the animals.
fodder = food such as hay or straw that is given to domesticated animals
Other Uses (with this meaning)
- The drought raised the price of local fodder.
- Then the elephants were chained by their hind legs to their big stumps of pickets, and extra ropes were fitted to the new elephants, and the fodder was piled before them,Rudyard Kipling -- The Jungle Book
- Once they'd drained the bowls she filled, suddenly
she struck with her wand, drove them into her pigsties,
all of them bristling into swine—with grunts,
snouts—even their bodies, yes, and only
the men's minds stayed steadfast as before.
So off they went to their pens, sobbing, squealing
as Circe flung them acorns, cornel nuts and mast,
common fodder for hogs that root and roll in mud.Homer -- The Odyssey - Little Toomai came in with a joyous tunk-a-tunk at the end of each verse, till he felt sleepy and stretched himself on the fodder at Kala Nag's side.Rudyard Kipling -- The Jungle Book
- "Bagheera spoke truth," he panted, as he nestled down in some cattle fodder by the window of a hut.Rudyard Kipling -- The Jungle Book
- fodder for the kineRudyard Kipling -- The Jungle Book
- fodder for the kineRudyard Kipling -- The Jungle Book
- fodder for the kineRudyard Kipling -- The Jungle Book
- Little Toomai turned, rustling in the fodder, and watched the curve of his big back against half the stars in heaven, and while he watched he heard, so far away that it sounded no more than a pinhole of noise pricked through the stillness, the "hoot-toot" of a wild elephant.Rudyard Kipling -- The Jungle Book
fodder = food such as hay or straw that is given to domesticated animals
fodder = food such as hay or straw
fodder = food such as hay or straw that is given to domesticated animals
fodder = food such as hay or straw that is given to domesticated animals
fodder = food such as hay or straw that is given to domesticated animals
fodder = food such as hay or straw that is given to domesticated animals
fodder = food such as hay or straw that is given to domesticated animals
fodder = food such as hay or straw that is given to domesticated animals
fodder = food such as hay or straw that is given to domesticated animals
Less commonly:
More rarely, cannon fodder can reference a group of people considered expendable for any purpose.
Much more rarely, fodder is used as a verb to reference the feeding of fodder to domesticated animals.