Silver spoon

Posted by ESC on October 27, 1999

In Reply to: Silver spoon in you mouth posted by Pam on October 27, 1999

: Hi -
: I am looking for clarification of the phrase

: "born with a silver spoon in your mouth"

: Thank you!

: pam

From Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings by Gregory Y. Titelman: "Every man is not born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Not everybody is born to wealth. A silver spoon is a traditional gift given by godparents when the baby is born; not everybody can afford a silver spoon. The proverb is in Peter Motteux's translation of Cervantes' 'Don Quixote' (1605-15). First attested in the United States in the 'Adams Family Correspondence' . The proverb is found in varying forms: Every man is not born with a silver spoon, let alone a gold one; A lot of people were born with silver spoons in their mouths.State Treasurer Ann Richards of Texas in a keynote address to the Democratic National Convention in 1988 humorously changed the proverb by suggesting that George Bush was 'born with a silver foot in his mouth.'."