Never bite the hand that feeds you

The origin of this phrase is unknown. It was first seen in print in the 18th century when political writer Edmund Burke said “having looked to government for bread, on the first scarcity they will turn and bite the hand that fed them.” (source)

Based on that, and the definition which includes the idea that biting the hand that feeds you is a way to say disrespect is being shown to the person providing necessities, the following are some examples of the phrase.

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Call it a Day

The literal use of this phrase hails from 1838 when the phrase originally was "call it half a day" to mean leaving work early. (source) The modern use of the phrase is to indicate ending something due to false sense of accomplishment.

More bang for your buck

This phrase was used a lot in 1953 but an earlier citation puts it at 1940 in a Metals and Plastics Publications advertisement. Read about it here . The phrase means you get more for your money.

Butter someone up

There are two probable origins for this idiom and I think both are equally plausible. The first one is that when you spread butter on bread you are buttering it up like one would do when trying to flatter someone. The second is in ancient India there was a practice of throwing balls of butter at statues to ask for favor, i.e. buttering them up. ( source ) When we use the phrase today we generally mean that extreme flattery is used to gain information or favor. It's not always necessarily a compliment.

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