As you know, there is a phrase “have no shirt on his back,” which means having no money and basic necessities. Would you think I should apply the meaning to the following description?
"How many times do I have to tell you not to mention that unnaturalness under my roof?" he hissed, his face now a rich plum color. "You stand there, in the clothes Petunia and I have put on your ungrateful back …."
"Only after Dudley finished with them," said Harry coldly, …
(p33, Harry Potter 4, US edition)
For your information, Harry has lived at his non-wizard uncle’s house since he lost his parents. Now, his uncle is speaking with an air of condescension. Dudley is his cousin, whose old clothes are always going to Harry.
I consulted some dictionaries, but there seems to be no such idiom as “put the clothes on your ~ back”.
And here are my questions;
- Is the speaker, Harry’s uncle, talking only about clothes, or saying “you live in comfort with basic needs for life”?
- Is Harry’s answer purely about clothes, or a part of the idiomatic meaning which he took it literally on purpose?
I’d be glad if you could help me!
Best Answer
There is a common expression "to give (someone) the clothes off your back", meaning that you would go without basic necessities yourself in order to provide for that person; the Dursleys certainly haven't been doing that for Harry! JK Rowling is playing with our (the readers') presumed understanding of that expression.
His uncle is using "clothes" figuratively, as a stand-in for all the necessities of life; Harry's answer turns this around - his clothes are literally Dudley's hand-me-downs, but presumably the food he eats hasn't gone through Dudley first!
Side note: Clothes have a lot of significance in the Harry Potter books; house elves are automatically freed (and banished) if their owners give them clothes. Coincidence?