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mother of
Idioms and Phrases
The best or greatest of a type, as in That was the mother of all tennis matches . This expression originated during the Gulf War as a translation of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's term umm al-ma'arik , for “major battle”; the Arabic “mother of” is a figure of speech for “major” or “best.” It was quickly adopted and applied to just about any person, event, or activity. [ Slang ; late 1980s]Example Sentences
Helen, a 38-year-old mother of three, said her family has to stretch to make ends meet even under normal conditions.
The farm's vet confirmed the foal was stillborn due to a rare deformity but could not confirm which one was the mother of which foal.
The mother of a South African girl, who disappeared aged six more than a year ago, has been convicted of kidnapping and trafficking her daughter.
“Necessity was definitely the mother of invention. I can’t wait around for someone else to make the things, the likes of which we want to be in and see in the world. We have to use whatever platform, notoriety, talent and connections we have to do it ourselves.”
The mother of Oscar-nominated actor Amy Irving, Pointer was 100 years old.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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