prodigal

Related to prodigal: Prodigal son

the prodigal son

One who has returned after spending time away doing or pursuing something that was not condoned by the family or organization they had left, and who is now repentant for their actions. The phrase comes from a parable in the Bible about a son who leaves his father to seek his fortune and returns humbled. Well, looky here, the prodigal son has returned. Guess you didn't like that fancy new company that poached you last year.
See also: prodigal, son
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

prodigal son

a person who leaves home to lead a spendthrift and extravagant way of life but later makes a repentant return.
The biblical parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15: 11–32 tells the story of the spendthrift younger son of a wealthy man who leaves home and wastes all his money. When he repents of his extravagant ways and returns home, he is joyfully welcomed back by his father. See also kill the fatted calf (at fatted).
See also: prodigal, son
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

a/the prodigal ˈson

(formal, disapproving or humorous) a person who leaves home as a young man and wastes his money and time on a life of pleasure, but who is later sorry about this and returns to his family: All the family went to the airport to welcome home the prodigal son.This expression comes from a story in the Bible.
See also: prodigal, son
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • a/the prodigal son
  • prodigal son
  • the prodigal son
  • advise against (something)
  • measure (someone or sth) (up) against (someone or sth else)
  • measure against
  • measure up against
  • measured
  • always chasing rainbows
  • rainbow
References in periodicals archive
It's possible that the few weaknesses in Kingsolver's novel were apparent only because I began reading Prodigal Summer on the heels of finishing Wendell Berry's Jayber Crow.
The opening scene of The Merchant of Venice, in which Bassanio requests Antonio's help, echoes the reconciliation of prodigal and father.
For Proehl, the prodigal initiates a rupture, especially in the family, and embarks on a journey of whisky, womanizing, and waste, after which he will either reform and return, or continue on a downward spiral to damnation.
The paradox of the Prodigal Son - that the sin is a necessary prelude to the forgiveness - echoes the theme of the "fortunate fall."(3) The parable presents generosity and mercy as the central attributes of Christianity, and it rejects the elder brother's narrow focus on desert and obedience to his father's commandments.
Truly, [General McCaffrey's] son was now the prodigal soldier." American soldiers, scorned by American intellectuals and rejected by popular culture in much of the post-Vietnam era, continue to be asked to surrender their lives in enterprises both wise and foolhardy.
Like the prodigal son, he removes himself from the family, first spiritually then physically.
The first sentence of Prodigal Son reads, "By my count, this is at least the fifth book written by a New York City Ballet dancer about George Balanchine." Villella's autobiography, his life story, is about George Balanchine?
Among his best - known plays are El hijo prodigo (1918), a thoughtful treatment of the story of the Prodigal Son; two plays dealing with the theme of an aging Don Juan, Don Juan de Carillana (1913) and El burlador que no se burla (1930); and El senor de Pigmalion (1923), a serious " tragi - comic farce " in which life - like puppets reveal the egocentrism and fallibility of human nature.
"Messy Journey: How Grace and Truth Offer the Prodigal a Way Home" was written by licensed parent and family educator Lori Wildenberg specifically for parents walking the difficult road with a wayward child.
15, 1-32), Jesus tells us the parable of the Prodigal Son.
The are the online on The story behind The Prodigals was inspired by two very different books - The Return of the Prodigal by Dutch catholic priest Henri J.M.
FEW STORIES ARE AS COMPELLING as the parable of the prodigal son (and the forgiving father).
The triple bill featured Balanchine's Prodigal Son, Nijinsky's Rite of Spring, and, in its world premiere, artistic director Jean-Christophe Maillot's very contemporary version of Fokine's Scheherazade.
The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith
THE PRODIGAL GOD: RECOVERING THE HEART OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH (9780143143802, $24.95) takes an intellectual approach to discussions on Christianity, using Jesus' parable of God's prodigal grace to discuss a new way of thinking about faith and Christianity.