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Showing results for open sesame. Search instead for open+sesame.
Synonyms

open sesame

American  

noun

  1. any marvelously effective means for bringing about a desired result.

    Wealth is the open sesame to happiness.
open sesame British  

noun

  1. a very successful means of achieving a result

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of open sesame

First recorded in 1785–95; from the use of these words by Ali Baba to open the door of the robbers' den

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.