hoggery
Definition
- Noun:
- A place where pigs are kept: "hoggery" refers to a pigsty or an enclosure for raising swine.
- A herd of pigs: It can also denote a group or collection of pigs.
- Piggish behaviour: In a figurative or derogatory sense, "hoggery" describes habits or qualities considered characteristic of pigs, such as filthiness, gluttony, or coarse manners.
Usage Examples
A place for pigs:
- The farmer cleaned the hoggery before the new piglets arrived. (The pigsty was tidied for the young animals.)
A herd of pigs:
- A large hoggery of sows and piglets roamed the pasture. (A group of many pigs moved across the field.)
Piggish behaviour:
- His hoggery at the dinner table disgusted the other guests. (His greedy and coarse eating habits offended others.)
Advanced Usage
"to wallow in hoggery": to indulge in filthy or gluttonous behaviour.
- He seemed to wallow in hoggery, never bathing and eating with his hands. (He sank into dirty and greedy habits.)
"a den of hoggery": a place characterized by dirtiness or moral coarseness.
- The abandoned house became a den of hoggery, littered with trash and spoiled food. (The neglected home was filthy and disorderly.)
Variants and Related Words
Hoggish (adj): resembling or characteristic of a hog; greedy or dirty.
- His hoggish appetite left little food for others. (His pig-like greed consumed most of the meal.)
Hog (n): a domestic pig, especially a fully grown one, or a greedy person.
- The hog ate from the trough. (The pig fed from the container.)
Synonyms
- Pigsty: a place where pigs are kept.
- Swineherd: a group of pigs (though more often referring to the keeper).
- Gluttony: excessive eating or drinking (for the behavioural sense).
- Filthiness: the quality of being dirty (for the behavioural sense).
Phrasal Verbs
Related Idioms
"To live like a hog": to live in a dirty or greedy manner.
- He lives like a hog, never cleaning his home and eating constantly. (He exists in a state of filth and gluttony.)
"Hoggish behaviour": actions that are selfish, greedy, or coarse.
- Her hoggish behaviour at the buffet embarrassed her friends. (Her selfish and messy eating embarrassed others.)