girdle, noun

In the obsolete phrases girdle of famine, girdle of hunger: a leathern strap or thong tied tightly round the stomach to deaden hunger pangs; hunger-belt; lambile strap, see lambile.
1827 G. Thompson Trav. 255The pangs of hunger pressed sore upon us, and our only relief was to draw our ‘girdles of famine’ still tighter round our bodies.
1829 C. Rose Four Yrs in Sn Afr. 100He (sc. the Khoikhoi) is capable of undergoing great privation;..he can abstain from food for days, diminishing the gnawing pain of hunger by tightening the girdle of famine around him.
1834 T. Pringle Afr. Sketches 505In seasons of long continued drought, the Corannas are..forced, like the Bushmen, to subsist on wild roots, ants and locusts. On such occasions, they are accustomed to wear a leathern band bound tightly round their middle, which they term ‘the girdle of famine’.
1837 J.E. Alexander Narr. of Voy. I. 387Round his loins is a double thong, also thickly set with brass rings. This is regarded as a great ornament in South Africa; and it also serves as a girdle of famine to confine the stomach, if on a journey food runs short.
1839 W.C. Harris Wild Sports 293Dying of hunger, and my ‘girdle of famine’ tightened to the last hole, I felt strangely tempted to devour my Christmas repast uncooked.
1841 B. Shaw Memorials 80The chief said, that..some had nothing to eat, and were wearing their girdles of hunger.
1849 E.D.H.E. Napier Excursions in Sn Afr. I. 117This said ‘girdle of famine’ is a leather belt, worn round the waist by most of the natives of Southern Africa. It is gradually tightened when hunger is felt, without the means of satisfying the same.
In the obsolete phrases girdle of famine, girdle of hunger:a leathern strap or thong tied tightly round the stomach to deaden hunger pangs; hunger-belt; lambile strap, see lambile.
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