crown jewels
3
5.6
- noun
:
joyas de la corona
- The diamonds will be in Buckingham's personal vault, located in the lowest, most secure level of the Tower, next to the crown jewels.
- stealing the crown jewels
- crown jewels of England
- see the crown jewels
Well, in the recent past on this channel, I have been making parts of the British royal family's crown jewels.
- Well, in the recent past on this channel, I have been making parts of the British royal family's crown jewels.
- Keith, you don't know this, but I have only recently completed building myself a set of the British Crown jewels.
Examples
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When visiting London, a highlight of the trip was seeing the stunning crown jewels on display at the Tower.
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I remembered the time Jack and I went with our little boy to see the crown jewels.
Fiction book (1995) -
Unfortunately, you can't film the crown jewels, but this right behind me is where they're kept.
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Now, after the crown jewels were stolen from Westminster Abbey... ...in the early part of the 14th century, the English government recovered them... ...and brought them here to the Tower of London for permanent safekeeping.
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The crown jewels of England include the famous Imperial State Crown and the Koh-i-Noor diamond.
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During the royal ceremony, the queen proudly wore the crown jewels, dazzling everyone with their brilliance.
Synonyms
7
9.1
People wear very special clothes and objects at ceremonies to show rank
Surface Forms
Morphology
The figurative sense 'the most valuable assets' is directly inferable from combining 'crown' (a symbol of highest status) with 'jewels' (very valuable items): together they naturally denote the most prized possessions. This metaphorical extension is straightforward and found in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows both words would likely understand the figurative meaning.
Etymology
Crown jewels comes from the actual items a king or queen wears at a coronation: the shining crown and precious jewels used in state ceremonies. These show royal power, so the phrase means 'the special ceremonial items worn by a monarch'.