Hiya!
Today is a very special day for me, not only because it's Father's day and I'm a father myself, but, rather, because my eldest son turned 4 today. Indeed, I first became a father on Father's day four years ago. Isn't it awesome? To celebrate this special day and to pay homage to fathers, I have decided to write an entry on some English idioms containing the word 'father'.
1. Father knows best: This idiom is used to indicate that a father (and extensively a mother) instinctively knows what to do in a given situation. This expressions strengthens fathers' experience in life.
E.g. - My dad considers I should not go parachuting because it's really dangerous.
- You know, father knows best.
2. Like father, like son: This expression is used to refer to the fact that children take after their fathers.
E.g. - He is a great basketball player, much like his father.
- You know what they say: like father like son. (Spanish: de tal palo tal astilla).
From: Idiom Land — “Like father, like son” means “sons are very... (tumblr.com)
3. Old enough to be one's father: This expression is said of a man who is much older than his partner, which people find shocking.(Spanish: si podría ser tu padre).
E.g. Jane's new boyfriend is old enough to be my father!
From: Everyday Idioms!!!: Old Enough To Be Your Mother/Father (languagesystems.edu)
4. The sins of the father are visited upon their children: This expression coming from the Bible implies that children typically suffer the consequences of their parents' wrongdoings.
E.g. - His father was a ruthless man. No one in the company would be pleased that his son takes over. The sins of the father are visited upon the children.
5. Success have many fathers. Failure is an orphan: This self-explanatory idiom indicates that no one want to admit failure, but everybody is happy to show success to the rest of the world.
6. To be the founding father of // To be the father of: This idiom is used mataphorically when a man was decisive in the creation of something, in other words, when something would have never been possible without a given man's intervention, e.g. Alexander Fleming was the (founding) father of modern medicine.
From: The Founding Fathers | CK-12 Foundation (ck12.org)
Last but not least, I'd like to refer to the fact that the word 'father' in English is not jsut a noun, but it is also used as a verb (by means of conversion). In that case, 'father' means 'begetting', in toher words, giving life to someone (or something), e.g. he fathered three children // he fathered the business plan.
I hope you've learnt a lot from this entry. If you want to know more vocab on parenthood, check out my entry on parenthood vocab.
See you around.
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