meat in the room

English

Noun

meat in the room (uncountable)

1. (slang) A person or group that functions as warm bodies, especially those who serve no useful purpose.
   • 2015 May 4, Matt Prigge, “TV Recap: 'Mad Men,' Season 7, Episode 12: Peggy and Roger get drunk”, in Metro:

     Instead he found himself in a packed meeting where he was mere meat in the room.

   • 2015 December 14, Alexander Netherton, “Player Ratings: Bournemouth 2-1 Manchester United”, in The Busby Babe:

     He replaced McNair because of cramp in the last few minutes, and was essentially meat in the room.

   • 2016 June 11, Zoe Williams, “Kouzu, London SW1, restaurant review”, in The Telegraph:

     N is a vegetarian who doesn’t like aubergines, from which I think you can conclude he only became veggie because he’s not a huge fan of food. He’s only there for company, just meat in the room (ironically).