gilded cage

Cultural  

1. To be like “a bird in a gilded cage” is to live in luxury but without freedom: “Because the movie star could not go out without being recognized and pursued, she stayed in her penthouse, living like a bird in a gilded cage.”

---

gilded cage Idioms  

1. The encumbrances or limitations that often accompany material wealth, as in She had furs, jewelry, whatever money could buy, but was trapped in a gilded cage. This metaphoric expression indicating that riches cannot buy happiness was popularized (and possibly coined) in a song, “A Bird in a Gilded Cage” (1990; lyrics by Arthur J. Lamb, music by Harry von Tilzer), about a young girl marrying for wealth instead of love and paying for luxury with a life of regret.

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gilded cage

With “Maria,” he’s got the gilded cage, but little of the bird’s desperation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2024

Fabio Capello lead a campaign that mirrored his countenance - grim, austere and discontented, the Italian choosing to base England in a gilded cage at the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace outside Rustenburg.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2024

It shows Taylor and Burton essentially confined to the gilded cage of their New York hotel suite.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 21, 2024

Before the speech, his allies had said he was craving interaction with people outside the gilded cage of the White House.

From New York Times ● Mar. 8, 2024

“You’re definitely better suited to a gilded cage than to a real one.”

From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo