{"id":161,"date":"2021-11-02T16:39:09","date_gmt":"2021-11-02T16:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=161"},"modified":"2021-11-02T16:39:24","modified_gmt":"2021-11-02T16:39:24","slug":"bun-in-the-oven-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/bun-in-the-oven-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Bun in the Oven - Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Are you pregnant? Then you have a \u201c<em>bun in the oven<\/em>.\u201d It\u2019s a common idiom still in use today, and it\u2019s a common phrase used by men and women to describe pregnancy. A bun in the oven is a lighthearted phrase, usually said between friends and family.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<em>A bun in the oven<\/em>\u201d is an old idiom, in use since the 17th century, with the <strong>bun describing the baby<\/strong> and the <strong>oven being the woman\u2019s womb<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s look at the origins and meaning of the idiom and how you can use it in a sentence.<\/p>\n<h2>Bun in the Oven Meaning<\/h2>\n<p>If you\u2019re <u>expecting a child<\/u>, it means you\u2019re pregnant. Having a \u201c<em>bun in the oven<\/em>\u201d is a way of <u>describing pregnancy between friends<\/u>. You can direct the phrase <strong>directly at the person<\/strong> or use it <strong>when talking about someone else\u2019s pregnancy<\/strong> to a friend or family member.<\/p>\n<h2>Bun in the Oven Example Usage<\/h2>\n<p>When you\u2019re using the idiom \u201c<em>a bun in the oven<\/em>,\u201d you\u2019re talking about someone being pregnant. Some of the common ways to use the phrase might be the following.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Susan has a \u201c<em>bun in the oven<\/em>,\u201d and she\u2019s expecting the child in two months.<\/li>\n<li>Richard and Angela just got married because she has a \u201c<em>bun in the oven<\/em>.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>I have a \u201c<em>bun in the oven<\/em>\u201d, and the OBGYN says that I\u2019m eight weeks into the pregnancy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"English idiom: &quot;Have a bun in the oven&quot;\" width=\"512\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/P4OcbxHHq00?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Bun in the Oven Origin<\/h2>\n<p>A \u201c<em>bun in the oven<\/em>\u201d <u>originates in the 17th century,<\/u> where the <strong>bun is the child<\/strong>, and the <strong>oven is the woman\u2019s womb<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The idiom comes straight out of the kitchen. A loaf of bread, or bun, rises as it bakes, forming a top over the tray and a distended look. The same applies to the growing size of the woman expecting the child. The phrase is still popular today, mainly in the UK.<\/p>\n<h2>Phrases Similar to Bun in the Oven<\/h2>\n<p>Here are some other idioms and phrases with a similar meaning to \u201c<em>bun in the oven<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cIn the family way.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cShe\u2019s looking big as a house.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cShe\u2019s ready to pop.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cIn the pudding club.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cShe\u2019s eating for two.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cSomeone knocked her up.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cShe\u2019s in a delicate position.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cShe\u2019s got a joey in the pouch.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cShe\u2019s bursting with life.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phrases Opposite to Bun in the Oven<\/h2>\n<p>The following are <u>opposite idioms or phrases<\/u> to \u201c<em>bun in the oven<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cShe dodged a bullet with that pregnancy.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Considering the idiom refers to pregnancy, there aren\u2019t too many opposite idioms available for this one.<\/p>\n<h2>What is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n<p>Here are a <u>few ways to phrase<\/u> this idiom.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>She has a \u201c<em>bun in the oven.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<li>She\u2019s working on a \u201c<em>bun in the oven<\/em>.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>Tiffany and her partner have a \u201c<em>bun in the oven.\u201d<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Ways People May Say Bun in the Oven Incorrectly<\/h2>\n<p>A \u201c<em>bun in the oven<\/em>\u201d refers to pregnancy, but some people might use the idiom incorrectly or for other purposes. For clarity, the phrase <strong>does not refer to baking or cooking<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>For example, saying she has a \u201c<em>bun in the oven<\/em>\u201d when baking hot cross buns would be technically accurate but confuses people familiar with the original idiom.<\/p>\n<p>People may also use the idiom out of turn, <strong><u>speaking to someone they don\u2019t know well<\/u><\/strong>. As a result, the person might seem somewhat offended at the gesture.<\/p>\n<h2>Acceptable Ways to Phrase Bun in the Oven<\/h2>\n<p>When you tell someone that they are pregnant or describe someone\u2019s pregnancy to another person, you\u2019re using it in an informal setting, usually between friends.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo, you have a <em>bun in the oven there<\/em>, Jacqueline?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Are you guys thinking about putting <em>a bun in the oven<\/em>?\u201d (referring to <u>getting pregnant<\/u>).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">Are you pregnant? Then you have a \u201cbun in the oven.\u201d It\u2019s a common idiom still in use today, and it\u2019s a common phrase used by men and women to describe pregnancy. A bun in the oven is a lighthearted phrase, usually said between friends and family. \u201cA bun in the oven\u201d is an old [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=161"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":162,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161\/revisions\/162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}