Why do we say "His/her eyes are bigger than his/her stomach"?

Meaning:

The person desires more than he can handle, usually with reference to food

Background:

Many variations on this expression exist. The earliest recorded variation is from George Herbert's Jacula Prudentum (1651): "The eye is bigger than the belly".

The succinct Latin title, "Jacula Prudentum", translates approximately as "short and pointed comments made by judicious men". Which, in modern usage, could be boiled down to the single word: 'aphorisms' - which in turn comes from the Greek aphorizein, to define.

More expressions and their source

Challenge yourself with BookBrowse Wordplays