grist for the mill

English

Alternative forms

• grist to the mill (UK), grist to one's mill

Noun

grist for the mill (uncountable)

1. (idiomatic, chiefly US) Something that is useful or that creates a favorable opportunity.
   • 2003, Peter Lefcourt, The deal : a novel of Hollywood:

     They were sitting across from each other at the bar as Lionel described his odyssey across the country in a Trailways bus, gathering material, as he put it. It was all grist for the mill, life real and raw out there west of New Jersey.

Usage notes

• Often found in the expression it's all grist for the mill and variations thereof.

Translations

(idiomatic, chiefly US) Something that is useful or that creates a favorable opportunity

• French: (to provide grist for the mill, to bring grist for the mill) apporter de l’eau au moulin, donner du grain à moudre (fr)
• German: Wasser auf die Mühlen
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: при́быль (ru) f (príbylʹ), вы́года (ru) f (výgoda)