warming-pan
A grandmother places a warming-pan in the bed before her grandchildren sleep.
Definition
- Noun:
- A covered metal pan filled with hot coals: Historically, a "warming-pan" was a long-handled, lidded pan used to warm a bed by placing it between the sheets before sleeping.
- (Figurative) A temporary substitute: Metaphorically, "warming-pan" refers to a person who temporarily holds a position or office until the proper or permanent person is ready to take over.
Usage Examples
- Literal meaning:
- The maid used a warming-pan to heat the cold sheets on a winter night. (A pan filled with hot coals to warm the bed.)
- Figurative meaning:
- The regent acted as a warming-pan for the young king until he came of age. (A temporary ruler holding power for the rightful heir.)
Advanced Usage
- "Warming-pan heir": An heir who holds a title or estate temporarily for another.
- The older brother was a warming-pan heir, managing the estate until his younger sibling reached adulthood. (A temporary guardian of inheritance.)
Variants and Related Words
- Warming (adj): serving to make warm.
- The warming effect of the fire was pleasant. (Providing heat.)
- Pan (n): a metal container for cooking or heating.
- She placed the pan on the stove. (A cooking vessel.)
Synonyms
- Bed-warmer: a device for warming a bed (literal).
- Placeholder: a person who temporarily occupies a position (figurative).
- Stopgap: a temporary substitute or solution.
Related Idioms
- A warming-pan marriage: A historical term for a marriage arranged to provide a temporary heir or to secure property.
- The king's warming-pan marriage was a political arrangement. (A marriage for temporary succession purposes.)
Etymology Tip
- The figurative use of "warming-pan" originated in 17th-century English politics, where it described a person who "kept a seat warm" for another, especially in the context of royal succession.