Backbone vs Lifeblood - What's the difference?
backbone | lifeblood |
The series of vertebrae, separated by disks, that encloses and protects the spinal cord, and runs down the middle of the back in vertebrate animals.
any fundamental support, structure, or infrastructure
courage, fortitude, or strength
Blood which is needed for continued life; blood regarded as the seat of life.
* circa 1980 , George Spelvin, Petticoat Loose'', Act II, Scene 1, published in ''George Spelvin's theatre book , volume 3:
(figuratively) That which is required for continued existence or function.
:Gasoline is the lifeblood of the modern city.
* 2006 , James E. Kibler, Memory's Keep , page 55:
As nouns the difference between backbone and lifeblood
is that backbone is the series of vertebrae, separated by disks, that encloses and protects the spinal cord, and runs down the middle of the back in vertebrate animals while lifeblood is blood which is needed for continued life; blood regarded as the seat of life.backbone
English
Noun
(en noun)- Before automobiles, railroads were a backbone of commerce.
- He would make a good manager, if he had a little more backbone .
Synonyms
* spine * spinal column * vertebral column * See alsolifeblood
English
Alternative forms
* life blood, life's bloodNoun
(en-noun)- You didn't come to me in time. And by the time you came to me that fool of a doctor had bled and leeched the lifeblood out of Timmy.
- The road brought invaders who left them hungry and dug up the dead. The road took living children away and made them dead to home. It was as if the roads were veins that bled off lifeblood but never pumped it back in.