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

For centuries, the wreck becomes the stuff of legends, with only the remote indigenous Guna Yala tribe privy to its exact location. —Chrissie McClatchie, Robb Report, 20 Oct. 2025

At the time, the area was a hub for bohemian creatives and glamorous beach-goers, and Ipanema’s spirited scene became the stuff of legend. —Hannah Walhout, Travel + Leisure, 18 Oct. 2025

Pouring in 38 points while ill to take the series lead in the Finals is the stuff of legend. —Devin Robertson, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025

In this new-original sequel, however, the Spinal Tap trio seem older and wiser, and that’s a shame, since their dim-witted antics (going in circles trying to find the stage or rationalizing an all-black album cover) became the stuff of legend. —Peter Debruge, Variety, 11 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1919, in the meaning defined at sense 1