fruit

One's child or children; one's immediate or future descendant(s). As the baby-boomer generation ages, many are increasingly relying on the fruit of their loins for financial and medical support. Little could she know that, nearly two centuries later, the fruit of her loins would be in nearly every continent on the planet.

In US law, any secondary legal evidence that has been obtained as the result of unconstitutional or illegal means or information gathered in such a way. Such evidence, both the primary source and the secondary result, are generally inadmissible in court. The police were found to have obtained the knowledge of the illicit firearms' location from a search they conducted without a warrant, and thus this fruit of the poisonous tree was ultimately not admitted during the prosecution.

People are drawn to things that they are forbidden from doing or having. A: "I know you're intrigued by Derek, but he's married!" B: "But forbidden fruit is the sweetest!" Since forbidden fruit is the sweetest, I couldn't stop myself from taking a piece of the cake my mom had specifically made for work.

rude slang A disparaging term for a homosexual man (as is "fruit").

One must work for what one wants. You can't rely on sheer intelligence in order to get good grades—he that would eat the fruit must climb the tree.

Fig. someone or something that one finds attractive or desirable partly because having the person or thing is immoral or illegal. (Biblical; from the apple in the Garden of Eden that was forbidden to Adam by God.) Jim flirts with his sister-in-law only because she's forbidden fruit. The boy watches that program only when his parents are out. It's forbidden fruit.

Fig. the results of one's work. We displayed the fruits of our labor at the county fair. What have you accomplished? Where is the fruit of your labors?

Fig. the easiest person(s) to sell something to, to convince of something, or to fool. (From the much older easy pickings.) People who always want to be the first to buy something, they're low-hanging fruit for this product. Don't be satisfied with the low-hanging fruit. Go after the hard-sell types.

Prov. People often enjoy illicit things just because they are illicit. To judge from the number of his extramarital affairs, John must believe that stolen pleasures are sweetest.

Prov. People judge your character by what you do. (Biblical.) The politician may say she believes in more spending on child care, but the tree is known by its fruit; she hasn't voted for a single measure that would help.

to produce a result that is wanted or desired Some of the changes in the election laws are already bearing fruit.

to produce successful results Opening a new store in San Francisco has already borne fruit for the company.

if something someone does bears fruit, it produces successful results The work he began did not bear fruit until after his death.

the unpleasant results of something Disease and malnutrition are the bitter fruits of an inefficient social healthcare policy.

something that you want very much but are not allowed to have, especially a sexual relationship He'd spent many years lusting after his brother's wife - the forbidden fruit.

your children The fruit of my loins you may be, but that doesn't mean I have to look after you all my life!

Yield results, have a favorable outcome, as in This new idea of his is bound to bear fruit. This metaphoric term, first recorded in 1879, transfers the production of fruit by a tree or plant to other kinds of useful yield.

Unlawful pleasure or enjoyment; illicit love. For example, After Mary moved in with John, Tom began courting her-forbidden fruit is sweet, I guess , or Smoking behind the woodshed, that's a case of forbidden fruit. This expression alludes to Adam and Eve's violation of God's commandment not to touch fruit from the tree of knowledge, which resulted in their expulsion from the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:6). In the form forbidden fruit is sweet it appeared in numerous early English proverb collections.

No good will come from criminal schemes. The Shadow was a very popular radio detective series that began in the early 1930s. Its hero, playboy Lamont Cranston, had “the power to cloud men's minds,” a form of hypnosis by which he appeared off to the side of where people thought he stood (contrary to popular belief, the Shadow did not make himself invisible). After the credits at the end of every episode, the Shadow intoned, “The weed of crime bears bitter fruit. Crime does not pay! The Shadow knows,” and then utter a sardonic laugh. Another famous Shadow-ism was “Who knows what evil lurks in the minds of men?—The Shadow knows!”