born with a silver spoon in his or her mouth

Financial and social advantages from family connections. It was traditional when a child was christened for the godparents to give a silver spoon as a gift or as soon afterwards as they could afford one (if they ever could). However, a child born into a wealthy family always received one at the ceremony. Such infants so privileged were said, often enviously, to have been “born with a silver spoon in their mouth,” and the image followed them throughout their lives.