the Cleavers
Iconic TV household
The Cleavers are the fictional family from the American television series *Leave It to Beaver* (1957–1963), consisting of Ward, June, Wally, and Beaver.
The name has become shorthand for an idealized, wholesome, middle-class suburban family—often invoked ironically: We're not exactly the Cleavers around here.
To call a family "the Cleavers" suggests they embody (or pretend to embody) 1950s domestic perfection.
- beaverDam-constructing aquatic rodent
- JuneSixth calendar month
- WardPersonal or family name
- WallyMasculine given name
- suburbanOf residential outskirts
stay-at-home mom · white picket fence · fifties · sitcom · wholesome · nuclear family · picket fence · apron · television · Americana · good old days · Leave It to Beaver · mischief · after school · innocence · family values · black-and-white · kitchen