milk of human kindness
1
7.8
- idiom
- Literature
:
leche de bondad humana
- So we aren't seeing very much of the milk of human kindness in their hearts.
Examples
-
He's a friend of the poor and the downtrodden—indeed, you can hear the milk of human kindness sloshing around inside of him when he walks.
Blog text (29) -
So much for the milk of human kindness.
Academic text (1994) -
Aw, you have no milk of human kindness.
-
Speech, certainly, implies some milk of human kindness.
Fiction book (2001) -
Sometimes the most ill-favored are full of the milk of human kindness.
Academic text (2000) -
I'm not a great believer in the milk of human kindness.
-
That's why Good Omens is so successful; it's Gaiman's usual black bitter tea combined with a dash of Pratchett's milk of human kindness.
Blog text (12) -
Despite his tough exterior, John often showed the milk of human kindness by helping the less fortunate.
-
The community responded to the disaster with an outpouring of the milk of human kindness and support for those in need.
-
She demonstrated the milk of human kindness when she volunteered to care for the abandoned animals.
Synonyms
297
1.0
Friendly and generous actions that help or comfort other people
128
2.1
Being kind and ready to give money, time, or help to others
127
3.4
Being kind and caring to other people
17
2.9
A person who is very kind and generous
16
6.1
Kind feelings and actions that help other people
6
4.1
Being kind, polite, and generous to other people
1
5.2
A warm, gentle feeling of care and concern for other people
1
2.2
Being caring and helpful to people who need support
1
3.2
Being friendly, generous, and caring to other people
1
9.9
A warm wish for happiness and kindness toward yourself and others
A deep care for people who suffer that makes you want to help them
A kind and friendly feeling toward other people
A kind, gentle way of acting that makes people feel cared for
Willingness to give money, time, or help to other people without asking for anything
Antonyms
How Kind
16
6.1
423
2.7
- Literature
1
7.8
297
1.0
71
4.6
- NSFW
129
3.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
The core idea 'human kindness' is directly visible from the constituents, but the element 'milk of' is a metaphorical, literary image (milk as a nourishing or inherent substance) rather than a literal compositional modifier. Because understanding the phrase requires interpreting that metaphorical extension rather than straightforward word combination, a B1 learner might infer a general sense but not the precise idiomatic nuance.
Etymology
Milk of human kindness comes from a famous line by Shakespeare where milk is a picture of soft, natural care in a person. The image of warm milk that feeds and comforts makes the phrase mean 'compassion' or 'natural generosity' today.