baker


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Related to baker: bakery

a baker's dozen

Thirteen; one more than a usual dozen (12). When Jacob went to the bakery to buy doughnuts for the office, he made sure to get a baker's dozen so he could sneak one to eat on the way to work. The guy at the bakery is really nice and will often give you a baker's dozen of treats. They have a sale on at the moment—a baker's dozen onion and garlic bagels for just $8.
See also: dozen

baker's half dozen

Half of a "baker's dozen" (13 rather than 12), thus, 7 rather than 6. The term "baker's dozen" to mean 13 originates from an 11th-century practice in which bakers would include an extra loaf of bread in a dozen so as to avoid facing penalties for selling underweight bread. The seven deadly sins are a baker's half dozen of things one should avoid in order to live a moral life. Mom, I asked Grandpa how many days are in a week, and he said "a baker's half dozen." What does that mean? Snow White is accompanied by a baker's half dozen of lovable dwarves.
See also: dozen, half

on the baker's list

Having or exhibiting a strong appetite. Primarily heard in Ireland. I wasn't on the baker's list for a while after that bout of food poisoning. I can tell my son is on the baker's list when he starts rifling through our cupboards.
See also: list, on

the butcher, the baker, the candlestick-maker

People of all ethnicities, professions, and socioeconomic classes. The aim of our program is to draw in and appeal to people from all walks of life—the butcher, the baker, the candlestick-maker, as the rhyme goes.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

a baker's dozen

thirteen. (Bakers often added an extra item to an order for a dozen.) We ended up with a baker's dozen each of socks and undershirts on our shopping trip.
See also: dozen
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

baker's dozen

Thirteen, as in The new bagel store always gives you a baker's dozen. The origins of this term are disputed. One theory is that in times when bread was sold by weight, bakers who short-weighted their customers were heavily fined, and for safety's sake they would sell thirteen loaves for the price of twelve. Another theory is that dealers purchasing bread from bakers were allowed by law to receive thirteen loaves for the price of twelve, the thirteenth representing their cut of profit. [Late 1500s]
See also: dozen
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

a baker's dozen

OLD-FASHIONED
A baker's dozen of things is thirteen of them. To help you decide where to go, we've picked out a baker's dozen of top events between April and September. Note: Bakers in medieval England (= England between 1000 and 1500) had a bad reputation for cheating their customers by selling loaves of bread that were too light. After laws were introduced to fix the standard weight of loaves, bakers began to add a thirteenth loaf to each dozen to make sure they were not breaking the law.
See also: dozen
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

a baker's dozen

thirteen.
This expression arose from the former bakers' practice of adding an extra loaf to a dozen sold to a retailer, this representing the latter's profit.
See also: dozen

the butcher, the baker, the candlestick-maker

people of all kinds.
This phrase comes from the traditional nursery rhyme Rub-dub-dub, Three men in a tub .
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

a baker’s ˈdozen

(old-fashioned) thirteenThis phrase comes from bakers’ old custom of adding one extra loaf to an order of a dozen (= twelve).
See also: dozen
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

baker's dozen

Thirteen. The source of this term is a law passed by the English Parliament in 1266, which specified exactly how much a loaf of bread should weigh and imposed a heavy penalty for short weight. To protect themselves, bakers would give their customers thirteen loaves instead of twelve, and in the sixteenth century this came to be called “a baker’s dozen.”
See also: dozen
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer
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References in periodicals archive ?
Instead, they filed a motion arguing that the equity plans must be settled via arbitration, claiming that Baker agreed to the equity terms when he cashed in some $886,000 of his equity in May 2016.
As well as her TV work, Baker landed the role of undertaker's wife Mrs Sowerberry in the movie version of Oliver!
Charles History Museum, there will be a mini pop-up exhibit paying tribute to the hotel's history, to Colonel Baker, and to his beloved trotter Greyhound.
Grassworks' management team will join Baker in its new Seattle, Washington office, where Baker's existing northwest sales representatives are based.
The transaction will be executed using a partnership structure, pursuant to which GE Oil and Gas and Baker Hughes will each contribute their operating assets to a newly formed partnership.
The latest trial saw Baker, a retired teacher from Buckley Road, Leamington, jailed for two-and-a-half years after pleading guilty to three charges of indecent assault.
Baker Hill designed its new website to support the company's commitment to extraordinary client experience and to showcase its latest efforts to provide financial institutions with progressive solutions to achieve a competitive edge.
For example, in August, 1896, Jewish baker Julius Louis Meek was taken to court by the London district of the Amalgamated Society of Bakers.
Geoff Barnes, CEO of Baker Tilly International, inaugurated the new building of Baker Tilly Greece, saying that the firm enjoyed balanced growth and development of specialised professional services.
Baker Tilly Greece: Balanced growth and development of specialized professional services