fodder

noun

1. (countable, uncountable)Food for animals; that which is fed to cattle, horses, and sheep, such as hay, cornstalks, vegetables, etc.

   “The sheep for fodder follow the shepherd, the shepherd for food follows not the sheep.”

2. (countable, historical, uncountable)A load: various English units of weight or volume based upon standardized cartloads of certain commodities, generally around 1000 kg.

   “Now measured by the old hundred, that is, 108 lbs. the charrus contains nearly 19 1/2 hundreds, that is it corresponds to the fodder, or fother, of modern times.”

3. (countable, slang, uncountable)Tracing paper.
4. (countable, figuratively, uncountable)Stuff; material; something that serves as inspiration or encouragement, especially for satire or humour.

   “According to the audio commentary on “Treehouse Of Horror III,” some of the creative folks at The Simpsons were concerned that the “Treehouse Of Horror” franchise had outworn its welcome and was rapidly running out of classic horror or science-fiction fodder to spoof.”

5. (countable, uncountable)The text to be operated on (anagrammed, etc.) within a clue.

   “In (part of) Shelley's poem Ozymandias is a "crumbling statue". If this is the explanation then the clue is not a reverse cryptic in the same was^([sic]) as GEGS -> SCRAMBLED EGGS but a normal clue where where^([sic]) the fodder and anagrind are *both* indirect.”

   “Insane Roman! (4) […] Look in -sane Roman and you'll uncover NERO, the insane Roman. Dovetailing the signpost — in — with the hidden fodder — sane Roman — is inspired, an embedded style of signposting.”

6. (countable, uncountable)People considered to have negligible value and easily available or expendable.

   “Innocent people who are arrested become fodder for the justice system.”

   “cannon fodder”

   “The Russian government was not interested in who will pay the mortgage or take care of his pregnant wife. It simply wanted more fodder for its war.”

verb

1. (dialectal)To feed animals (with fodder).

   “Straw will do well enough to fodder them with”

   “"When I had foddered the horse, I went into the barn and took the handle of an old rake to chase the dog out with."”