Idioms

Caesar's wife

Caesar's wife

One who must avoid attracting negative attention or scrutiny owing to one's involvement with a famous or prominent figure. Julius Caesar allegedly used the phrase "Caesar's wife must be above suspicion" to explain why he divorced his wife, Pompeia. I felt a bit like Caesar's wife after seeing how much scrutiny my every action gets because of my husband's newfound success. All of us have to be like Caesar's wife, got it? The slightest scandal could totally derail Dad's presidential bid. A: "I wonder if celebrities' families feel suffocated by the need to be like Caesar's wife." B: "Eh, but what if avoiding exposure in the tabloids is its own reward?"
See also: wife
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

Caesar's wife

a person who is required to be above suspicion.
This expression comes ultimately from Plutarch 's account of Julius Caesar 's decision to divorce his wife Pompeia . The libertine Publius Clodius , who was in love with Pompeia, smuggled himself into the house in which the women of Caesar's household were celebrating a festival, thereby causing a scandal. Caesar refused to bring charges against Clodius, but divorced Pompeia; when questioned he replied ‘I thought my wife ought not even to be under suspicion’.
See also: wife
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

Caesar's wife

A woman whose ethics should not be questioned. A Roman emperor's wife was deemed to be above reproach; if her morals were called in question, it was a serious problem to her husband's image and political and social power. The phrase came down over the centuries to be applied to any woman, married to a leader or not, whose behavior was—or should be—beyond criticism. (According to the historian Suetonius, what Julius Caesar actually said translates as “My wife should be as much free from suspicion of a crime as she is from a crime itself.”)
See also: wife
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price Copyright © 2011 by Steven D. Price
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References in classic literature
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