english
1
general::
Phrase(s): food for thought Fig. something for someone to think about; issues to be considered. • Your essay has provided me with some interesting food for thought. • My adviser gave me some food for thought about job opportunities.
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs
2
general::
An idea or issue to ponder, as in That interesting suggestion of yours has given us food for thought. This metaphoric phrase, transferring the idea of digestion from the stomach to mulling something over in the mind, dates from the late 1800s, although the idea was Also expressed somewhat differently at least three centuries earlier.
American Heritage Idioms