Killing the Fatted Calf

If you're having a party and say that you're going to "kill the fatted calf", it's the same as saying that no expense is being spared.The phrase goes back to a parable of Jesus, where a wayward son comes home after a long time away, and his father is so overjoyed to have him back that he throws a lavish party, fatted calf and all. It seems that killing the fatted calf was the first-century equivalent of cracking open the bubbly...

The father said to his servants, "Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found."