from the cradle to the grave
2
4.0
- idiom
- Informal
:
de la cuna a la tumba
- In civilized life, in particular, it has at last become possible for large numbers of people to pass from the cradle to the grave without ever having had a pang of genuine fear.
- care from the cradle to the grave
Examples
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Many healthcare services are designed to ensure well-being from the cradle to the grave.
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The support systems available in our society help individuals thrive from the cradle to the grave.
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It's not invested in your well-being from the cradle to the grave.
Blog text (8) -
And, as in his journey from the cradle to the grave, man was formerly guided by the priest, so now he is guided by the physician.
Blog text (2) -
From the cradle to the grave, the oldest and the wisest, not less than the youngest and the simplest, are but learners; and those who learn most seem to have most to learn.
Academic text (2014) -
In the Philippines, it is the right of every Filipino citizen, as inalienable, to demand and claim an annual financial dividend and supplementary basic income guaranteed to every father, mother, and child from the cradle to the grave.
Blog text (24) -
Brethren, our fair Father Christ in His great loving kindness hath ordained that His mystic bride, the Holy Mother of the Church, to protect her children at every stage from the cradle to the grave.
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Education is a fundamental right that empowers people from the cradle to the grave.
Synonyms
5
7.3
Lasting for a person's whole life or for the whole time something exists
Throughout a person's life from birth to death
Covers a person's whole life from birth to death
Antonyms
How Lifelong
Surface Forms
Morphology
from + the + cradle + to + the + grave
The expression uses the transparent range pattern 'from X to Y' and the constituents 'cradle' (birth/early life) and 'grave' (death) directly indicate the endpoints, so a learner who knows those words can infer 'throughout a person's life'. This metaphorical pairing is common across many languages (e.g. Spanish 'de la cuna a la tumba'), which further supports immediate understandability.
Etymology
From the cradle to the grave shows a simple life picture: a baby in a cradle at the start and a body in a grave at the end. That's why it is used to mean 'throughout a person's life'.