the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
Mothers have significant influence on their children's development and future
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Mẹ có ảnh hưởng đáng kể đến sự phát triển và tương lai của con
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: a mother rocking a cradle
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Sources & notes
Listed on Wikipedia “List of proverbial phrases” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world” mean?
Mothers have significant influence on their children's development and future Literally: a mother rocking a cradle
Is “the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.