虎の子

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 虎の子, read とらのこ, literally means a tiger cub but idiomatically denotes a treasured possession or carefully saved nest egg.
• Basic usage: It appears when spending precious savings on an important need or identifying an object as especially valuable to someone.
  • 父は虎の子の貯金を家の修理に使った。 describes the father using carefully saved money for home repairs; この古い時計は祖父にとって虎の子だ。 identifies the old watch as a treasured possession for the grandfather.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• 虎の子の貯金
  • The first の links the idiom to 貯金, producing the meaning of precious savings kept in reserve.
• にとって虎の子だ
  • にとって marks whose perspective determines the value; in the second example, that person is the grandfather.
• 虎の子 and 宝物
  • 宝物(たからもの) broadly means a treasured object, while 虎の子 strongly suggests something specially preserved because one is reluctant to lose or spend it.