Definition

Noun phrase: - A male person; a man or boy: The phrase "mother's son" is a somewhat old-fashioned or formal way to refer to any male individual. It emphasizes the person's humanity and commonality, often used in the context of "every mother's son" to mean "every single man."

Usage Notes

• This phrase is almost exclusively used in the fixed expression "every mother's son." It is used for rhetorical emphasis to mean "every single person" (specifically males) or "absolutely everyone."
• It can carry a tone of universality, shared experience, or sometimes collective responsibility or blame.
• Using "mother's son" alone to simply mean "a man" is very rare in modern English.

Examples

• (Every single man from the village participated.)
• (The general demanded courage from every single soldier.)
• (It's a truth that every man must confront.)

Advanced Usage

• "Every mother's son (of them/you)": This is the standard, emphatic form. The addition of "of them" or "of you" specifies the group.
  • I want every mother's son of you ready at dawn.
  • They arrested every mother's son of the gang.

Variants and Related Words

• Every man jack: (Idiom) A synonym meaning "every single person," though it is also dated and informal.
  • Every man jack on the team contributed to the victory.

Synonyms

• Every last man
• Each and every man
• Every single one (gender-neutral)

Related Idioms

• Every mother's son: As detailed above, this is the primary idiom containing the phrase.
  • The law applies to every mother's son, rich or poor.

Noun

1. a male person
   • every mother's son who could walk was there