mother lode

or moth·er·lode

[ muhth-er-lohd ]

noun

1. Mining. a rich or important lode.
2. a major or profitable source or supply:

   New York City is a mother lode of actors.

mother lode

noun

1. mining the principal lode in a system

Word History and Origins

Origin of mother lode¹

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

In August 1803, she hit the mother lode and married Prince Camillo Borghese.

From The Daily Beast

The mother lode he turned to was the ganglia of so-called feeder funds.

From The Daily Beast

The richest bonanza that the "mother lode" ever yielded he struck.

From Project Gutenberg

Not to darkness, but to eternal light, to rise again from the Mother Lode to mingle in the busy lives of men.

From Project Gutenberg

Flapjack confessed to having spent weeks looking for that mother lode about Freezeout Camp.

From Project Gutenberg

Where so much dust and nuggets come from along a crick bed, we knowed there must be a regular mother lode somewheres here.

From Project Gutenberg

He starts from the placer fields to search for the mother lode.

From Project Gutenberg