swaddling clothes

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swaddling clothes

A newborn baby sleeps peacefully in soft swaddling clothes.

Definition

Noun 1. A garment for an infant: Long, narrow strips of cloth or a gown used to wrap a newborn baby snugly, restricting its movement. 2. Restrictions placed on the immature: A metaphorical term for the limitations, rules, or controlling influences that are placed on someone or something in its early stages of development.

Usage
  • The term is most commonly used in its literal, historical sense to describe infant clothing.
  • The metaphorical usage is formal or literary, referring to constraints on new ideas, projects, or freedoms.
Examples
  • Literal (Garment):
    • In many ancient cultures, newborns were wrapped in swaddling clothes to keep them warm and secure.
    • The painting depicted the baby Jesus in simple swaddling clothes.
  • Metaphorical (Restrictions):
    • The new policy is still in its swaddling clothes, bound by numerous bureaucratic procedures.
    • The revolutionary theory struggled to break free from the swaddling clothes of traditional thought.
Advanced Usage
  • "In swaddling clothes": Used to describe something in its earliest, most restricted phase.
    • The project is still in swaddling clothes and needs careful guidance.
  • "Out of swaddling clothes": Describes something that has moved past its initial, highly controlled phase.
    • The company is finally out of its swaddling clothes and ready to compete independently.
Variants and Related Words
  • Swaddle (verb): To wrap (a baby, or metaphorically, an idea) tightly with cloth or in restrictions.
    • She gently swaddled the infant.
    • The artist felt swaddled by the gallery's conservative rules.
  • Swaddling bands (noun phrase): Another term for the strips of cloth used for swaddling.
Synonyms
  • Literal: Wrapping bands, infant binders, baby wraps.
  • Metaphorical: Leading strings, shackles, constraints, trammels.
Related Idioms
  • "Tied to one's mother's apron strings": While not identical, this idiom shares the conceptual space of being under restrictive, immature control, though it applies to an older child.
swaddling clothes

A newborn baby sleeps peacefully in soft swaddling clothes.

Noun
  1. restrictions placed on the immature
  2. a garment (a gown or narrow strips of cloth) for an infant

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