coattail

[koht-teyl]

noun

1. the back of the skirt on a man's coat or jacket.

2. one of the two back parts of the skirt of a coat, especially one of the tails on a tailcoat.

adjective

1. gained by association with another, especially with a successful or celebrated person.

   coattail benefits.

Word History and Origins

Origin of coattail¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; coat + tail ¹

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. on the coattails of, immediately after or as a result of.

   His decline in popularity followed on the coattails of the scandal.

2. on someone's coattails, aided by association with another person.

   The senator rode into office on the president's coattails.

Example Sentences

Britain was "clinging on to the coattails of Uncle Sam" with "crumbs from the Silicon Valley table".

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Court documents showed that Mondelēz International said Aldi uses similar packaging likely to "deceive" consumers and "ride the coattails" of the company's "attraction, fame and prestige".

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Nor are Christian conservatives merely riding the coattails of charlatans like Kennedy or the Means siblings.

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By 2016, these hotel gyms had now become boutiques to Kohli's fitness regime, and the rest of the team followed on his coattails.

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What this shows is that for all of the GOP's swaggering braggadocio about their alleged landslide, Trump's win was razor thin in Congress, indicating once more that he has no coattails.

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