mother of

Idioms  

1. The best or greatest of a type, as in That was the mother of all tennis matches. This expression originated during the Gulf War as a translation of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's term umm al-ma'arik, for “major battle”; the Arabic “mother of” is a figure of speech for “major” or “best.” It was quickly adopted and applied to just about any person, event, or activity. [Slang; late 1980s]

---

Example Sentences

On a recent Sunday, priests, candle bearers and a bishop in embroidered vestments sung a hymn in classical Armenian as they filed into the Holy Mother of God Patriarchal Church, the main place of worship of Turkey’s Armenian Apostolic Church.

From The Wall Street Journal

The mother of the Roybal student was detained during a summer raid at the Vernon factory where she worked and then quickly deported, Cardona said.

From Los Angeles Times

The longtime labor-and-delivery nurse and mother of three teenagers — one of them transgender — keeps a grueling hospital schedule.

From Salon

This mother of four married to a military veteran said it was her 72nd protest since February.

From Salon

A mother of three told the BBC it was not the first military takeover she had lived through, nonetheless it came as a surprise as people were expecting to hear about the outcome of the election, which had an estimated voter turnout of more than 65%.

From BBC