point of honor
2
7.9
- noun
- Formal
:
punto de honor
- He made it a point of honor never to advance a program of economic reform.
- make it a point of honor
- become a point of honor
Examples
-
Her mother's voice was calm and dangerous, but it was a point of honor with Cecilia never to turn back.
Fiction book (1999) -
It was a point of honor with him.
Fiction book (1995) -
Yeah, but it's a point of honor, man,
-
Besides, it's a point of honor!
-
Maybe it's a point of honor with him.
-
This made it a point of honor for my mother that things go ahead just the same.
Fiction book (2000) -
My father used to make it a point of honor to ride the subway.
Fiction book (1992) -
Jack Martin had made it a point of honor never to criticize his wife no matter what she did.
Fiction book (2001) -
It was a point of honor for him, I think.
Fiction book (2000) -
He considered it a point of honor to always tell the truth, no matter the consequences.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a matter affecting one's honor' is directly and compositionally derived from 'point' (an issue or matter) combined with 'of honor' (concerning honor). This straightforward genitive construction is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would normally infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Point of honor may come from times when a single point — a small insult or charge — was seen as an attack on a man's honor, and people sometimes fought duels to settle that single issue. So the phrase now means a matter that touches someone's 'reputation' and must be taken seriously.