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.

---

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

---

Example Sentences

Magyar has mapped a balanced approach toward the Chinese golden goose.

From Barron's • Apr. 17, 2026

It was a terrible time for the Ivy League’s golden goose to stop laying eggs.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 15, 2026

But OpenAI’s golden goose is not selling fancy coding software to businesses.

From Slate • Feb. 10, 2026

“Despite the state’s national reputation as ‘Scandinavia by the Sea,’ there remains a strong anti-tax impulse among voters who often reject tax increases and are loath to kill the state’s golden goose of tech entrepreneurship.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 2, 2026

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

From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste

Related Words

• moneymaker