the prodigal son
Someone who returns, chastened and repentant, after a period of reckless or wasteful living.
“After years away, he came home like the prodigal son.”
“The club welcomed back its prodigal son, the striker who had left for a bigger team and returned older and wiser.”
“When the founder returned to the company he had abandoned a decade earlier, the press cast it as the prodigal son come home, though the board wanted rather more than a feast in return.”
The phrase comes from one of Jesus' best-known parables, in Luke 15:11-32. A younger son demands his inheritance early, leaves home, and squanders it all on "riotous living." Destitute and starving, he returns to beg for work as a servant — and his father, overjoyed, welcomes him back as a son and throws a feast.
The word prodigal means wastefully extravagant, and it describes the son's spending rather than his return. The story's real weight falls on the reception: the father's forgiveness is instant and complete, to the visible irritation of the dutiful elder brother who never left.
English adopted "the prodigal son" for anyone who comes back after a spell of reckless behaviour or long absence — the returning wanderer, welcomed home. The phrase carries both the recklessness that came before and the reconciliation that follows.
The short stories Jesus told to make a point.
- 01
good Samaritan (idiom)
A person who helps someone in distress out of their own good nature.
- 02
the eleventh hour (idiom)
The very last possible moment before a deadline or a decisive event.
- 03
separate the wheat from the chaff (idiom)
To select only that which is of value.
- 04
a house built on sand (idiom)
A plan or venture with no solid foundation, liable to collapse under pressure.
- 05
the widow's mite (idiom)
A small gift that represents a great sacrifice for the person who gives it.
- 06
a good and faithful servant (idiom)
Someone praised for loyal, diligent, and dependable service.
Last updated July 29, 2026