Silver spoon
noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Wealth passed down or inherited. idiomatic, uncountable
"He was born with a silver spoon and an upturned nose. He didn't lose the latter when he squandered the former."
- 2 the inherited wealth of established upper-class families wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
More examples"He was born with a silver spoon and an upturned nose. He didn't lose the latter when he squandered the former."
Etymology
Rooted in 18th century European table-setting customs, when diners would bring their own utensils to the meal. To distinguish themselves from serfs and peasants, members of the land-owning classes often used silver cutlery, whence the term silverware.