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Anonymous Posted 12 years ago
Grammar

set the table for success

Is this an idiom and is it natural to use in a sentence?

set the table for success
Thanks
  

Top answer

I'm a native English speaker in the US, and I've never heard this particular one before. However, its meaning is obvious, you take the necessary steps to ensure success: education, social skills, making friends, etc. The problem with it becoming a popular idiom seems to be that the image of setting the table is not usually associated with success, the act of setting the table typically being a homemaker's or children's or servant's function, and success usually being a head of the household function.

— Anonymous

  • I'm a native English speaker in the US, and I've never heard this particular one before.
  • However, its meaning is obvious, you take the necessary steps to ensure success: education, social skills, making friends, etc.
  • The problem with it becoming a popular idiom seems to be that the image of setting the table is not usually associated with success, the act of setting the table typically being a homemaker's or children's or servant's function, and success usually being a head of the household function.
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2 Answers
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I'm a native English speaker in the US, and I've never heard this particular one before. However, its meaning is obvious, you take the necessary steps to ensure success: education, social skills, making friends, etc. The problem with it becoming a popular idiom seems to be that the image of setting the table is not usually associated with success, the act of setting the table typically being a
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A small comment.
In Canada, today we avoid the terms 'homemaker' and 'head of the household', because both partners normally have jobs outside the home.

And only the very, very, very rich have servants.
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