crown jewels

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crown jewels

1. The precious jewels, and the regalia or which they are featured, of a monarch or sovereign, as worn or used on a state occasion. One of the greatest mysteries of 20th-century Ireland was the case of the Irish Crown Jewels, which were stolen from Dublin Castle in 1907 and never recovered.

2. slang A male's genitals, especially the testicles. When she heard he had an affair, she kicked him right in the crown jewels.

crown jewels

1. A prized possession or asset, as in The Iliad and Odyssey are the crown jewels of ancient literature, or The software products are the company's crown jewels. This usage transfers the value of royal jewels to some other object. [Late 1800s]

2. Also, family jewels. The male genitals, especially the testicles. For example, She gave the would-be mugger a hard kick in the family jewels. A slang euphemism, the term dates from the 1970s, and the variant from the early 1900s.

See also: crown, jewel

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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References in periodicals archive ?

SCHOOLCHILDREN had a glimpse of what the Crown Jewels look like yesterday.

PUPILS TAKE A PEEP AT MONARCHY'S CROWNING GLORY

Cricket was by no means the only sport up in arms at the Davies Report, which recommended that the Epsom Derby, rugby league's Challenge Cup final and the Winter Olympics should all be sacrificed from crown jewels.

ASHES VICTORY FOR VIEWERS WILL PLUNGE CRICKET INTO POVERTY; CRICKET TV ROW SPARKED AT HOME AS ENGLAND START TOUR WITH T20 WIN

Mitie is taking over repairs to Birmingham council houses.' CROWN JEWELS...

City hires Queen's minders; HOUSING: Lines goes to the Tower

The dad of Prince William and Prince Harry won't be required to wear crown jewels as the new king.

Queen Elizabeth Describes 'Disadvantages' Of Wearing Crown Jewels

A WHEN the crown jewels were kept at Westminster Abbey they were stolen in 1303.

Question Time

The Crown Jewels of Scotland will be on display during the state opening, but the Queen will not wear the Scottish Crown.

Row as Queen dumps Scots crown for Holyrood opening

In a statement likely to draw the ire of activists hoping to see the diamond returned, historian Andrew Roberts told (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3308671/Indians-sue-Queen-return-100m-jewel-crown-Bollywood-stars-businessmen-launch-legal-battle-105-carat-diamond-say-stolen-country.html) the Daily Mail Sunday : "Those involved in this ludicrous case should recognize that the British Crown Jewels is precisely the right place for the Koh-i-Noor diamond to reside, in grateful recognition for over three centuries of British involvement in India, which led to the modernization, development, protection, agrarian advance, linguistic unification and ultimately the democratization of the sub-c

Indians Demand Return Of Pricey Diamond

CRYSTAL PALACE boss Iain Dowie is running scared of Manchester City's "crown jewel" Shaun Wright-Phillips.

Football: Dowie in a Wright old state

But former England prop Mike Burton said: "This isn't about wages and clubs going bankrupt, it's about the fact the owners of the clubs have realised that club rugby is not profitable, so they are going after the crown jewels.

Rugby Union: Burton: Clubs want takeover

CROWN jewels worth more than pounds 5 million have been stolen from their secret hiding place.

TREASURE HUNT THIEVES BAG IRISH CROWN JEWELS; Burglars track down pounds 5 million booty to solve a 90-year riddle

More than two and a half million tourists visit the Crown Jewels every year.

Crown Jewels warder Brian D'Arcy: My Diary

Culture Secretary Chris Smith is ready to risk the anger of fans and the BBC by allowing BSkyB to bid for matches under a shake-up of the TV "crown jewels" list.

Test blow for Beeb

Officially known as the Ofcom Code on Sports and Other Listed and Designated Events, the so-called 'crown jewels' list was first created in 1991 by the then Home Secretary Kenneth Baker but was not given statutory footing until the 1996 Broadcasting Act.

Major sport events would be free pledges Watson

LONDON, May 3 (KUNA) -- Kuwait First Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah visited Friday the Tower of London to see the Crown Jewels. Sheikh Nasser examined the Crown Jewels which constituted an important part of Britain's history spanning over 800 years, and included regalia and vestments worn by British kings and queens at their coronations.

Kuwait's First Deputy PM visits British Crown Jewels at Tower of London

The largest diamond extracted from earth was the 3,106-carat (http://www.cullinan-diamond.com/) Cullinan , a gem that was later used for the Crown Jewels. Yesterday, April 25, it was reported that the second-biggest uncut diamond in accounts has been uncovered in Botswana by a Canadian mining company, (https://www.lucaradiamond.com/) Lucara Diamond Corporation.