Throw A Bone To Meaning

Example : 1875, Anthony Trollope, The Way We Live Now, ch. 22:  There was considerable uneasiness in the bosoms of others of the Directors. . . . [T]hey knew that Lord Alfred had sold shares, and had received the profit. . . . And if there was so much cause to fear Lord Alfred that it was necessary to throw him a bone, why should not they also make themselves feared?1944 Jan. 14, "ILWU Votes for FR Plan," Berkeley Daily Gazette (USA), p. 1 (retrieved 11 July 2011):  The union . . . "regretted that the President thought it necessary to throw a bone to the anti-labor bloc" by saying the act would prevent strikes.1965 Dec. 10, “U.S. Business: New Dam for the Dollar Drain,” Time:  Throwing a bone to the banks, it will allow a 4% increase in overseas loans next year.1991 June 18, "Cowboys reward Wright with early starting position," Fort Worth Star-Telegram, p. S1 (retrieved 11 July 2011):  The Dallas Cowboys yesterday gave a starting job to Alexander Wright, in effect throwing him a bone.2006 June 16, Joseph Berger, “Acknowledging the Gay Part of Gay Marriage,” New York Times (retrieved 11 July 2011):  And he did it on the day the Senate threw a bone to President Bush's evangelical base by voting on a Constitutional amendment declaring that only a union of a man and a woman constitutes marriage.