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jewel

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crown jewel

1. A precious jewel that is part of or featured on a monarch's or sovereign's regalia. Just one crown jewel from the Queen's regalia is worth enough money to buy a small country.

2. An asset or possession prized as being the best of a group of similar things. This vintage 1965 Corvette Stingray is the crown jewel of my car collection. The works of Shakespeare are the crown jewels of English drama.

See also: crown, jewel

crown jewels

1. The precious jewels, and the regalia or which they are featured, of a monarch or sovereign, as worn or used on a state occasion. One of the greatest mysteries of 20th-century Ireland was the case of the Irish Crown Jewels, which were stolen from Dublin Castle in 1907 and never recovered.

2. slang A man's genitals, especially the testicles. When she heard he had an affair, she kicked him right in the crown jewels.

See also: crown, jewel

family jewels

slang Male genitalia, especially the testicles. An allusion to the testes' role in producing offspring and thus maintaining the family line. When she heard he had an affair, she kicked him right in the family jewels.

See also: family, jewel

the jewel in the crown

the best or most valuable thing in a group This college is the jewel in the crown of the city's university.

See also: crown, jewel

the jewel in the crown

the best or most valuable thing in a group of things (often + of ) The island of Tresco, with its beautiful tropical gardens, is the jewel in the crown of the Scilly Isles.

See also: crown, jewel

crown jewels

1. A prized possession or asset, as in The Iliad and Odyssey are the crown jewels of ancient literature, or The software products are the company's crown jewels. This usage transfers the value of royal jewels to some other object. [Late 1800s]

2. Also, family jewels. The male genitals, especially the testicles. For example, She gave the would-be mugger a hard kick in the family jewels. A slang euphemism, the term dates from the 1970s, and the variant from the early 1900s.

See also: crown, jewel

family jewels

n. the testicles. (Jocular and euphemistic. They are necessary to produce a family.) Hey, careful of the family jewels!

See also: family, jewel