Are you looking for a slightly derogatory way to talk about someone from a wealthy and privileged background? Try saying he was “born with a silver spoon in his mouth.”
We’ll dive into the meaning and origin of this fascinating idiom in this post and show you how to use it.
Meaning
The idiom “born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth” dates back to the middle ages.
It refers to a person from a wealthy background. The phrase “born with a silver spoon in your mouth” implies living a life of luxury without a care in the world.
Example Usage
It is easy to make mistakes when you first discover a new idiom. These example sentences illustrate how the phrase “born with a silver spoon” is used in practice — so you won’t get it wrong:
- “Don’t be surprised if Robert seems a bit uppity. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and spends all his time playing golf!”
- “I’m up to my eyeballs in debt from student loans, and I still struggle to make ends meet. Not everyone is born with a silver spoon in their mouth!”
- “She pretends to have been born with a silver spoon in her mouth, but she grew up in a trailer park.”
Origin
The idiom “to be born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth” dates back to medieval times.
Ordinary people used wooden spoons, but the rich ate with silver cutlery. Babies from wealthy backgrounds were often gifted a silver spoon during their christenings, and this is where the idiom probably comes from.
This idiom is widely associated with the European (especially British) aristocracy.
The expression made its way “across the pond” to the United States, and one of the earliest print examples dates back to the 7th United States Congress in 1801:
“It was a common proverb that few lawyers were born with silver spoons in their mouths.”
People have since found creative ways to adapt the phrase. Then Texas Governor Ann Richard said that George H W Bush was born with a “silver foot” in his mouth in 1988, for example.
This clever phrasing combines the “silver spoon” idiom with the phrase “foot in mouth,” which means saying something embarrassingly inappropriate.
Phrases Similar to Born with a Silver Spoon
There are plenty of other expressions to describe people from wealthy backgrounds:
- Cream of the crop — cream being the “richest” part of milk.
- Born into money.
- Blue blood — meaning royalty or aristocracy.
Phrases Opposite to Born with a Silver Spoon
You can use these phrases to describe people who weren’t “born with a silver spoon in their mouths” but who became wealthy later in life:
- Self-made men
- Rags to riches
- New money
If someone is still poor, you can use the following idioms:
- Lives from hand to mouth.
- As poor as a church mouse.
- Barely making ends meet.
- Doesn’t have two pennies to rub together.
What Is the Correct Saying?
The correct saying is “born with a silver spoon in [his or her] mouth.” It means someone from a wealthy background who lives a life of leisure.
Ways People May Say Born with a Silver Spoon Incorrectly
It is important to keep in mind that idioms are never meant to be taken literally. Nobody is actually born with a silver spoon in their mouth.
By the same token, it would be incorrect to refer to someone who became wealthy later in life as having been born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth. This idiom is reserved for people from rich families.
Acceptable Ways to Say Born with a Silver Spoon
The idiom “born with a silver spoon in one’s mouth” is well-known in the US and UK. You can use it to describe someone from a rich background who lives a life of leisure and has an air of superiority.