A quiet notice V2Melody closes at midnight on , Spanish time.

Closes

A note from Richard

V2Melody will close at midnight on 20 January 2028

This site has been a retirement project in musical poetry: poems chosen with care and set to music, offered freely for as long as it felt right to keep the garden open.

The work no longer holds the place it once did in my life. I have gone as far with it as I wish to go. Like a sand mandala, it was made to be completed and then released. I am not attached to its permanence, and I do not believe any of it needs to last beyond the time it was given. The poems were already here before I arrived and began to experiment with them. They will still be here when these musical experiments, and indeed myself, have been swept away, like the sand of a mandala. Nothing has been lost.

I want a simpler end to my life, days of simple love and enjoyment with my wonderful wife of 20 years. The work of maintaining a server, the monitoring, and the residual obligations that come with keeping a site alive no longer fit that life.

From 4 November 2026 I will not be adding new poems or musical poems to the site.

Until midnight on 20 January 2028, Spanish time, everything remains available exactly as it is. That is when my VPS server contract comes to an end, and it will not be renewed. After that, the server will be switched off and the site will disappear.

The Mandala Is Finished explains this more fully.

Thank you to anyone who found a poem, a track, or a quiet moment here.

The pleasure was in the making.

Richard

Home › Glossary › Letter B

Bring home the bacon

Idiomatic Phrase
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

To earn a living or provide for one’s family, especially through hard work.

Detailed Definition
Rooted in early 20th-century working-class culture, this idiom celebrates provision and responsibility. In poetry, it appears in domestic lyrics, protest verse, or portraits of labor to honor unsung toil. Poets may use it earnestly to affirm dignity in work or ironically to critique gender roles and economic pressure. Its culinary imagery grounds abstract duty in tangible sustenance, making it a relatable metaphor for survival, care, and the daily grind that sustains love and community.
Example
Example in poetry:
Working-class anthem: “Dad brings home the bacon, hands cracked from dawn’s labor”; Gender role subversion: “She brings home the bacon, fries it up, and writes sonnets after bedtime”; Immigrant narrative: “Mother cleans offices to bring home the bacon, her English blooming in receipts”; Satirical twist: “CEO ‘brings home the bacon’—bacon soaked in worker sweat and offshore accounts.”
Additional Notes
Rooted in early 20th-century working-class culture, this idiom celebrates provision through hard work. In poetry, it appears in domestic lyrics, protest verse, or portraits of labor to honor unsung toil. Poets may use it earnestly to affirm dignity or ironically to critique gender roles. Its culinary imagery grounds abstract duty in tangible sustenance. Students should note its evolution: originally male-coded, now inclusive. Related idioms include “breadwinner” and “make ends meet.” In immigrant poetry, it captures sacrifice for family; in feminist verse, it questions who “brings home” and who “bacons” (cooks). Avoid reducing to cliché—anchor in specific labor.
Also Known As
Earn a living
Skip to main content