the.com/creature comforts
The small luxuries that make survival feel suspiciously like living.
means The basic physical pleasures — a soft bed, good food, warmth, comfort — that make life pleasant rather than merely bearable.
from From 'creature' in its old theological sense, meaning any created being (especially the human body as opposed to the soul), paired with 'comfort' from Latin 'confortare,' to strengthen greatly. The phrase emerged in English by the 17th century to mean the things that gratify the body — food, warmth, ease — as distinct from spiritual nourishment. Over time the religious contrast faded and what was left was the shopping list: pillows, snacks, central heating.
- origin
- Phrase dates to 1500s, meaning bodily rather than spiritual needs
- psychology
- Brains crave predictability more than luxury itself
- irony
- Often cheaper than the stress they cure
- paradox
- The more available, the less comforting they feel