What Does "Kill One's Darlings" Mean?
"Kill one's darlings" is an English idiom. It means "a piece of advice often given to writers to be prepared to cut their favourite parts of their work for the sake of the story."Examples in Sentences
Here are three examples of the idiom "kill one's darlings" used in a sentence:- Editing is tough, sometimes you have to kill your darlings.
- She had to kill her darlings to get the manuscript down to the required length.
- It's hard to cut scenes you love, but sometimes you have to kill your darlings.
What Is an Idiom?
An idiom is a commonly used expression whose meaning does not relate to the literal meaning of its words. In other words, if you were to translate "Kill One's Darlings" word for word, there is no guarantee the translation would help you to understand the meaning.An idiom often includes a cultural or historical context that makes it difficult for non-native English speakers to understand. A phrase is classified as an idiom when a direct translation of the words does not reveal the meaning. Most idioms rely on shared knowledge or experiences known only to a specific community.
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