Meanings
- Expressing the common belief that eating more will cure the common cold, and eating less will cure a fever.
I have a cold. 'Feed a cold, starve a fever.' You certainly know that.
1968, Katinka Loeser, The Archers at Home, New York: Atheneum, page 602 more examples
"Feed a cold, starve a fever." There is a deal of wisdom in the first part of this advice. A person with a catarrh should take an abundance of light nutritious food, and some light wine, but avoid spirits, and above all tobacco.
1887, J. H. Whelan, “The Treatment of Colds,”, in The Practitioner, volume 38, page 180They say feed a cold, starve a fever, but they don't tell you what to do when you got both, so I figured scrambled eggs, tea, and toast.
2009, Shelly Reuben, Tabula Rasa, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, →ISBN, page 60
Origin
An old wives' tale that dates back to 1574 from the original "Fasting is a great remedie of fever."
Full word history & related roots →Translations
French nourrir un rhume et affamer une fièvre
- nourrir un rhume et affamer une fièvreproverb expressing the belief that eating more cures a cold while eating less cures a fever
Japanese 風邪には大食, 熱には絶食
- 風邪には大食, 熱には絶食 (kaze ni wa taishoku, netsu ni wa zesshoku)proverb expressing the belief that eating more cures a cold while eating less cures a fever
Cite this entry
feed a cold, starve a fever. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/feed%20a%20cold%2C%20starve%20a%20fever
“feed a cold, starve a fever.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/feed%20a%20cold%2C%20starve%20a%20fever. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “feed a cold, starve a fever,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/feed%20a%20cold%2C%20starve%20a%20fever.
Source: feed a cold, starve a fever on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.