golden goose

American

noun

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

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

"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

Example Sentences

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golden goose

As Vienna grapples with smashed record after smashed record for tourist numbers, a plan to more than double its visitors' tax has worried hotel owners fearful of killing the Austrian capital's golden goose.

From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 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

"No one wants to kill the golden goose or impose unnecessary bureaucracy", but the Premier League had to "discharge its responsibilities", he argued.

From BBC ● Mar. 20, 2025

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

From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

golden goose

noun

noun

Example Sentences

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