A person born with a silver spoon (in their mouth) is a person born into wealth—a member of a wealthy family. In modern times, this is often said as a criticism. It implies that a person did not earn their money and privilege, and is said enviously. Such a person, we assume, was spoiled, meaning that they enjoyed too much comfort and too many advantages while growing up.
There are many ideas about where this phrase comes from. The first known example in print is from London, 1762, in a work of fiction by Oliver Goldsmith, where he says “one man is born with a silver spoon in his mouth, another with a wooden ladle.”
Most researchers argue that the phrase refers to the fact that upper-class people in the 18th century normally carried around a set of cutlery (spoon, fork, and knife) to use when eating outside their homes. And silver spoons were the nicest (most expensive) kind. It was also a tradition to give a nice spoon to a baby at their christening. A christening is a ceremony for blessing a Christian baby, shortly after birth. So, upper-class children were literally born with silver spoons (although not in their mouths, probably).
“Born with a Silver Spoon” Used in a Sentence
Here are some more examples of this idiom used in a sentence:
- Most of us were not born with a silver spoon in our mouths.
- To be born with a silver spoon in your mouth is not always an advantage.
- I came up the tough way, but Donald was born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
- My parents weren’t born with a silver spoon in their mouth either.