feather-bed

feather-bed

A worker rests on a feather-bed after a long day.

Definition

  1. Noun:

    • A soft, thick mattress filled with feathers: "feather-bed" refers to a bed or mattress stuffed with feathers, providing a comfortable and warm sleeping surface.
    • A comfortable or cushy situation: Used figuratively, it describes a situation that is easy, luxurious, or free from hardship.

  2. Verb (transitive):

    • To make things easy for someone: To provide comfort or advantages, often to the point of pampering.
    • To pamper or coddle: To treat someone with excessive care or indulgence.

  3. Verb (intransitive, US usage):

    • To apply restrictive work rules: In labor contexts, "feather-bed" means to enforce regulations that limit the amount of work done by employees, typically to create more jobs and reduce unemployment.
Usage Examples

  • Noun:

    • After a long day, he sank into the feather-bed and fell asleep instantly. (A soft, feather-filled mattress.)
    • His job at the company was a real feather-bed — he had little work but a high salary. (A comfortable, easy situation.)

  • Verb (transitive):

    • The wealthy parents feather-bed their children, giving them everything they want. (To pamper or spoil.)
    • The new program aims to feather-bed the elderly with generous benefits. (To make life easier for them.)

  • Verb (intransitive):

    • The union decided to feather-bed to protect workers from layoffs during the recession. (To apply restrictive work rules to preserve jobs.)
Advanced Usage

  • "to feather-bed an industry": to provide excessive government support or protection to a business sector.

    • Critics argue that subsidies feather-bed the agricultural industry, preventing innovation. (Government aid creates an overly comfortable environment.)

  • "to feather-bed a position": to make a job unnecessarily easy or undemanding.

    • The manager feather-bedded the supervisor role by assigning most tasks to assistants. (The job was made cushy.)
Variants and Related Words

  • Feather-bedding (noun): The practice of requiring employers to hire more workers than necessary, or to limit work output, often through union rules.

    • Feather-bedding in the railroad industry led to inefficiency. (The practice of overstaffing or restricting work.)

  • Feather-bedded (adjective): Treated with excessive comfort or protection.

    • The feather-bedded executive never faced real challenges. (Pampered or cushioned from difficulties.)
Synonyms
  • Pamper: to treat with excessive care and attention.
  • Coddle: to treat in an indulgent or overprotective way.
  • Cushion: to protect from hardship or difficulty.
  • Overstaff: to employ more people than necessary (for the intransitive verb sense).
Idioms

  • "to lie on a feather-bed": to be in a comfortable or easy situation.

    • He has never worked hard; he has always lain on a feather-bed of inherited wealth. (He enjoys an effortless life.)

  • "to make a feather-bed of something": to turn a difficult situation into an easy one.

    • She made a feather-bed of her stressful job by delegating all tasks. (She made the job comfortable.)