the stuff of legend

idiomatic phrase

variants or less commonly the stuff of legends

1

: someone or something that is told about in legend

Dragons are still the stuff of legend. But in Slovenia, a bizarre, cave-dwelling … salamander serves as a worthy, real-life stand-in.

—Olivia Lowenberg

2

: someone or something that is very famous or memorable

Earlier that summer, Saito faced off with Tanaka in Japan's national high school championships, which are at least the equivalent of March Madness in the United States. Their battles were the stuff of legend, but Saito's team won and he struck out Tanaka for the final out of the deciding game.

—Anthony Rieber

For those of us who ran around in it, the blizzard of '78 was the stuff of legend, an unrelenting force of nature that smacked Boston upside the head for about a week.

—Bob Flaherty

The contest between ruling authorities and peasants over whether or not martyrs would be commemorated could itself become the stuff of legends.

—Anne Walthall

Examples of the stuff of legend in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Colorado also hit seven home runs in a game at Coors on May 31, 2016, vs. Cincinnati, but the Home Run Derby in Montreal more than 28 years ago was the stuff of legend. —Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 17 June 2025

Oilers’ Game 4 comeback could be the stuff of legend on their path to Stanley Cup There are games in the history of the Stanley Cup Final that are not easily forgotten. —Pierre Lebrun, New York Times, 15 June 2025

Its volcanism has made for the stuff of legends, as one eruption is suggested to have held off the army of Carthage (now northern Africa) in 396 B.C., according to the Associated Press. —Kenna Hughes-Castleberry, Space.com, 4 June 2025

But to him, it's often felt like the stuff of legend. —Ari Daniel, NPR, 27 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1919, in the meaning defined at sense 1