golden goose

American  

noun

1. a legendary goose that laid one golden egg a day and was killed by its impatient owner, who wanted all the gold immediately.

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golden goose British  

noun

1. a goose in folklore that laid a golden egg a day until its greedy owner killed it in an attempt to get all the gold at once

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

golden goose

“LA turned its back on Hollywood — now the golden goose needs CPR,” he wrote on his Substack.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 17, 2026

SpaceX has long been considered a golden goose by IPO bankers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026

While Venezuela’s mineral industry may turn out to be fool’s gold, the rest of the region could well be the golden goose investors are looking for.

From Barron's ● Jan. 9, 2026

I suspect that most people assumed that he would simply do what he did in the first term and make a big show of it without actually killing the golden goose of a good economy.

From Salon ● Mar. 31, 2025

“Wasn’t the golden goose locked up in a cage?”

From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste

Related Words

• moneymaker