family silvern.
/ˌfam(ᵻ)lɪ ˈsɪlvə/, /ˌfaml̩ɪ ˈsɪlvə/, U.S. /ˈˌfæm(ə)li ˈsɪlvər/ 1. Silverware belonging to a particular family, handed down from generation to generation, esp. as an heirloom. Frequently with the.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > heritable property > anything handed down
legacy1579
heirloom1612
family jewels1735
family silver1838
1838 D. Jerrold Men of Char. III. iv. ii. 254 Trumps paid the money, surrendered the bit of family silver [sc. a seal-ring], and returned to his inn to dress.
1853 Littell's Living Age 30 Apr. 299/1 The family silver was bought by a goldsmith, who prepared to melt it up, in order to work it anew.
1905 E. W. Hornung Thief in Night (1908) 212 ‘Something valuable, sir?’ inquired the intrusive constable... ‘Yes, indeed—some old family silver,’ I answered.
1950 M. B. Stern Louisa May Alcott xvi. 333 The last testament of Louisa May Alcott..assigned to Lulu her ornaments and her share of the family silver.
2009 Christian Cent. 14 July 37 When my father boarded a ship to New York in 1938, he brought his trunks of family silver and linens—and his faith.
2. figurative. colloquial. Something considered to be of great value (materially or otherwise); a precious or venerable legacy. Now chiefly: spec. a well-established company, state-run industry, etc., regarded as an irreplaceable part of a nation's heritage. See to sell (off) the family silver at Phrases.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > possessions > [noun] > assets
family jewels1819
asset1825
net asset1863
fixed asset1898
intangible1914
net current asset1919
hidden reserve1930
tangible assets1930
family silver1976
1976 N.Y. Times 27 Nov. 19/1 The exhibition [sc. of architectural drawings], which Mr. Placzek calls ‘showing off the family silver’, deliberately eschews any polemical purpose.
1984 Financial Times 7 Feb. 16/3 The British Government is..engaged in one of the largest disposals of state assets the world has ever seen. The sale of what is often referred to as the ‘family silver’ is expected to raise around £2bn a year.
1993 Billboard 6 Mar. a4/3 It's [sc. a mixing desk] the family silver... We've not touched the architecture, but we've put in new knobs and switches.
1996 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 21 Mar. 25/1 It is of course typical of a Tory grandee to regard nationalized industries as ‘family silver’.
2011 Newsweek 28 Feb. 2 How could the United States let its national treasures—the family silver—fall into the hands of inscrutable Asian rivals?
Phrases
colloquial (frequently in negative contexts) to sell (off) the family silver and variants: to dispose of a nation's assets for financial gain (e.g. by selling a company to a foreign owner or privatizing a state-run industry); (now also more generally) to sell or part with a valuable resource or asset for immediate advantage. Cf. sense 2.
ΚΠ
1979 Guardian 3 May 17 (headline) By all means sell the stately home, but please don't flog the family silver.
1983 Times 2 Nov. 2/6 We are accused of sacrificing the nation's assets for short-term gain and of selling the family silver to pay current debts.
1991 Independent on Sunday (Nexis) 19 May 30 To deal with the debts the aristocratic club [sc. Tottenham Hotspur] is selling the family silver. Gascoigne is..expected to sign for Lazio.
2010 R. Cavalier Power Crisis iii. 80 The long decade of the Howard government sold off what remained of the family silver.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, December 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1838