Idiom meaning, usage examples, facts

1. When asked about a tax increase on gasoline to help pay for public education, the governor said he hadn’t considered that kind of tax, but he said it certainly was food for thought.
2. Sarah read the book that had been recommended to her and found that it contained a lot of food for thought.

Compare to: chew it over. In use since the early 1800s, this idiom refers metaphorically to the idea that the mind ‘chews’ on thought like the mouth chews on food.