Variants
from the cradle to the grave,
cradle-to-grave,
from womb to tomb.
Meaning
- The phrase is used to refer to something that spans a human lifetime.
- throughout one's life.
- the duration or length of one's life.
- It can be used more generally to mean "from start to finish."
- The adjectival form, 'cradle-to-grave,' is most frequently used in conjunction with government or corporate benefits such as Social Security or health care.
Example in Sentences
- He was a difficult man; from the cradle to the grave, he was constantly angry or upset.
- The proposed book would examine the life of the famous rock star from cradle to grave.
- Hesketh Pearson reported that the novelist, Thomas Harding, once told him, "Fate stalks us with depressing monotony from womb to tomb..." (Pearson, The Whispering Gallery, p. 151).
- The health insurance benefits offered by the government will cover you and your children from the cradle to the grave.
- Critics say that the cradle-to-grave Social Security system is in dire need of reform, but this is far from the truth.
- This health plan provides protection from the cradle to the grave.
Origin
In their book, Free to Choose (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1979, p. 93), Milton and Rose Freidman claimed that the phrase " cradle to grave" was coined by Edward Bellamy in his dystopian novel, Looking Backward (New York: Modern Library, 1917, p. 70). However, it was used at least as early as the 18th century. In 1788, Henry Grattan, Esq., delivered a speech in the House of Commons concerning the subject of tithes in which he referred to individuals following "their fellow creature(s) from cradle to grave" ( The Speeches of the Right Honourable Henry Grattan, Volume 2). Rev. James McKernan used the phrase "from cradle to grave" in his 1892 poem, "Viewing the Procession."
