[General] enough is as good as a feast

[vil]

Dear teachers,

Would you be kind enough to tell me whether I am right with my interpretation of the expressions in bold in the following sentence?

..he…told me that I had not yet seen half of what he had to show me. I looked at him archly and murmured that enough was as good as a feast. (Maugham’s “The Gentleman in the Parlour”, chapter XXVII)

enough is as good as a feast= enough is enough

Thank you for your efforts.

Regards,

V

 

[Tullia]

Hmm, this is tricky.

We use enough is enough as a set phrase. It means that it's time for something to stop, or time for change; it's an emphatic version of "That's enough!" and it usually refers to something negative.
One is unlikely to say "Enough is enough!" when being offered cake, for example, but one could well say something like "Enough is enough! This violence must be stopped!"

There's even a song which uses the phrase: YouTube - Barbra Streisand / Donna Summer - No More Tears (Enough is Enough) (Extended Version)



Enough is as good as a feast has a different flavour of meaning. It's saying that just the right amount (enough) is just as good as more than enough (a feast) - there is no extra "good result" or benefit from having more than you need.
When it comes to cake, if offered a second slice, you might well say "No thanks; enough is as good as a feast!".


The two are pretty different in meaning.