Flesh and blood is an idiom that is hundreds of years old. We will examine the meaning of the idiom flesh and blood, from where this expression is derived, and some examples of its use in sentences.
Flesh and blood may be used in a general sense to mean that someone is human, mortal, or a material part of nature. When someone is referred to as being someone’s flesh and blood, it means that the person is genetically related to that person. For instance, your son would be your flesh and blood. The earliest known use of the idiom flesh and blood may be found in an English translation of the Bible that dates from the year 1000 known as the Anglo-Saxon Gospels. This same passage appears in the King James Version in Matthew chapter 16, verse 17: “…Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee…”
Examples
“He realises she’s flesh and blood – and she’s not Robert.” (The Daily Express)
First, the reader should consider that the angels and saints in heaven do not hear and listen and understand the picture as we humans of flesh and blood do here on earth. (The National Catholic Register)
He said meeting the tot was “simply wonderful” and added: “I am so proud, he is my flesh and blood.” (The Courier)
“I cried and screamed, told my uncle she was my flesh and blood, but he still made me sign the paper and hand her over to the Iraqi officials.” (The Telegraph)
Want to know more idioms? Check out some others we covered: