Definition of: "make common cause" with explanation and origin

Definition of: make common cause with explanation and origin? Meaning of make common cause with examples in English idiom dictionary.

English	English

Definition of: "make common cause" with explanation and origin

make common cause

make common cause,
also, have common cause

Meaning

• to enter into an agreement or shared effort, especially for expedient purposes and with a party (or parties) otherwise deemed to be enemies.
• to work together in order to achieve a goal that both parties want.
• team up to achieve something that is beneficial for each other.

Example Sentences

1. We have set aside our disagreements and made common cause.
2. While they individually had different agendas and conflicting aims, ultimately, all parties agreed to make common cause in defense of their homeland.
3. Environment protesters have “made common cause” with local people to prevent the setting up of factories and chemical plants on fertile land.
4. While the locally owned grocers stand in a competitive relationship with one another, they have nevertheless made common cause and rallied opposition to the city’s proposal to offer tax incentives to the big-box store.
5. I believe I have common cause with him and we can work together to reach an agreement.

Origin

The phrase “common cause” was used as early as the 17th century in reference to a shared aim. The present idiom refers to either making an effort to engage in such a venture or to succeed in doing so.

The full form of the idiom, “make common cause,” appears in early 19th-century parliamentary proceedings. An 1808 record uses the phrase in regard to the relationship between the British and Ottoman empires. A later (1828) record of the minutes of the House of Commons attributes the phrase to numerous MPs who were debating the possibility that political and religious dissidents might ally with Catholics. One entry explains:

[John Wood] was convinced that, whatever might be the reason which prevented the Dissenters from making common cause with the Catholics, they would never effect any thing until they did make common cause with all who thought that men ought to be allowed to worship God in whatever way they pleased. (The Mirror of Parliament, 1828, p. 274.)

The Origins of make common cause

English

Related Dictionary

• English Definition & Meaning Dictionary
• English Idioms and phrases Dictionary
• Dictionnaire Français
• Dictionnaire d'expressions idiomatiques et de phrases en français

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English Idioms and phrases

An idiom is a common word or phrase with a figurative, non-literal meaning that is understood culturally and differs from what its composite words' denotations would suggest; i.e. the words together have a meaning that is different from the dictionary definitions of the individual words (although some idioms do retain their literal meanings – see the example "kick the bucket" below). By another definition, an idiom is a speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements.[3] For example, an English speaker would understand the phrase "kick the bucket" to mean "to die" – and also to actually kick a bucket. Furthermore, they would understand when each meaning is being used in context.

To evoke the desired effect in the listener, idioms require a precise replication of the phrase: not even articles can be used interchangeably (e.g. "kick a bucket" only retains the literal meaning of the phrase but not the idiomatic meaning).

Idioms should not be confused with other figures of speech such as metaphors, which evoke an image by use of implicit comparisons (e.g., "the man of steel"); similes, which evoke an image by use of explicit comparisons (e.g., "faster than a speeding bullet"); or hyperbole, which exaggerates an image beyond truthfulness (e.g., "more powerful than a locomotive"). Idioms are also not to be confused with proverbs, which are simple sayings that express a truth based on common sense or practical experience.