Advertisement
Advertisement
View synonyms for meal ticket
meal ticket
noun
- a ticket that entitles the bearer to meals in a specified restaurant, especially when meals purchased in this manner are offered at reduced rates.
- Informal. someone upon whom one is dependent for one's income or livelihood:
selfish children who look upon their father only as a meal ticket.
- Informal. something, as an object or ability possessed by a person, that is necessary to that person's livelihood:
The radio announcer's voice was his meal ticket.
meal ticket
noun
- slang.a person, situation, etc, providing a source of livelihood or income
Discover More
Word History and Origins
Origin of meal ticket1
An Americanism dating back to 1865–70
Discover More
Word History and Origins
Origin of meal ticket1
from original US sense of ticket entitling holder to a meal
Discover More
Idioms and Phrases
A person or thing depended on as a source of income, as in Magic Johnson was a real meal ticket for his team , or Her interpersonal skills will be her meal ticket when she goes into sales . This metaphoric expression alludes to the earlier practice of handing out tickets that entitle their holder to a meal. [Early 1900s]Advertisement
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Browse