rob the cradle

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

rob the cradle (third-person singular simple present robs the cradle, present participle robbing the cradle, simple past and past participle robbed the cradle)

1. (idiomatic, disapproving) To marry or become romantically involved with a much younger person, especially one from a younger generation.
   • 2004 January 8, Karen Thomas, “Cameron won't pull a Britney”, in USA Today:

     The actress, 31, also pooh-poohs the notion that she's robbing the cradle with Timberlake, 22.

2. (idiomatic, disapproving) To use a young person for a purpose inappropriate to his or her age.
   • 1879, John McElroy, chapter 29, in Andersonville: A Story of Rebel Military Prisons:

     They were ordered to the field, and their places filled by the Georgia "Reserves," an organization of boys under, and men over the military age. As General Grant aptly-phrased it, "They had robbed the cradle and the grave," in forming these regiments.