rags to riches
5
3.9
- idiom
- Informal
:
de la pobreza a la riqueza
- His journey from living in a small apartment to owning a mansion is a classic example of a rags to riches story.
- rags to riches story
It's a typical American rags to riches story.
- It's a typical American rags to riches story.
- Now here today in looking back, well, my path and my business and my brand, they almost seem to follow that cliched rags to riches story.
- It was the classic rags to riches story, I think.
- And so it's a different rags to riches, right?
- But it it was considered a rags to riches story and imposter syndrome.
Examples
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It's a rags-to-riches story: hard work and sincerity triumph over adversity.
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Sure, Americans love rags-to-riches stories and tales of dreams come true.
Blog text (12) -
So what is the secret of this rags-to-riches story?
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:It's a real rags-to-riches story and investors, they want in on this.
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It's a typical American rags to riches story.
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Royce's life was an honest Victorian rags-to-riches story.
Academic text (1997) -
Yet, the "rags to riches" stories were aimed at the American middle class in general, not only at those who perceived themselves as successful.
Academic text (1991) -
It was the classic rags to riches story, I think.
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A real rags-to-riches story.
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Thus, the American public in general favorably received the biographical "rags to riches" stories that described the careers of successful businessmen.
Academic text (1991)
Synonyms
To become successful and respected after being unknown or unsuccessful
Antonyms
How Inspiring
Surface Forms
Morphology
The components 'rags' (symbols of poverty), 'to' (indicating movement or change), and 'riches' (wealth) together directly convey a change from poverty to wealth; a B1 learner who knows those words can infer this meaning. The construction is compositional and cross-linguistically common, so the overall sense is immediately accessible rather than idiomatic.
Etymology
The idiom rags to riches comes from the simple image of a person who starts in torn rags and ends with great riches. So it means moving from 'poverty' to 'wealth' or success.