After years away, he came home like the prodigal son.
the prodigal son
idiomSomeone who returns, chastened and repentant, after a period of reckless or wasteful living.
Origin
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 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 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.