gravy boat

English

Noun

gravy boat (plural gravy boats)

1. dish used to serve gravy
2. A source of easily obtained money or benefits;
   • 1946, The Magazine of Wall Street and Business Analyst:

     Not only have suggestions for their elimination evoked a great hue and cry of protest, but other pressure groups are plugging diligently in an effort to get aboard the "gravy boat."

   • 1949, United States. Congress, Congressional Record:

     Everybody had climbed aboard the "gravy boat”—except the landlord; and he wanted to get in, too.

   • 1963, New Zealand. Parliament, Parliamentary Debates - Volume 332, page 2086:

     Through drawing attention to that, many organisations which had never previously put in an application for assistance had tried to get on the gravy boat.

   • 2011, Albino Barrera, Market Complicity and Christian Ethics, page 154:

     This herd behavior in not wanting to miss the gravy boat led to a collective lowering of standards that ended with the 2008 financial implosion.

Synonyms

• (en, dish for serving gravy): sauce boat
• (en, source of easy money): gravy train

Translations

dish for gravy

• Estonian: kastmekann
• Finnish: kastikekannu
• German: Soßenschüssel (de) f, Sauciere (de) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Icelandic: bátlaga ílát n
• Italian: salsiera f
• Turkish: sosluk (tr)