See gravy train in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
Download JSON data for gravy train meaning in English (7.5kB)
{
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gravy"
},
"expansion": "gravy",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "hog train"
},
"expansion": "hog train",
"name": "m"
}
],
"etymology_text": "Said to be originally US railroad slang, referring to an easy, short haul that paid well. The word gravy by itself was used prior to any attestable use of gravy train to characterise cushy situations. Note also phrases with hog train as possible source of analogy.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "gravy trains",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "gravy train (plural gravy trains)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1895 November, (as quoted by Michael Quinion) Courier of Connellsville",
"text": "Johnston claims that Reuben Nelson and another tall negro were in New Haven the night of the escape and that they broke into the lockup. Johnson further states that the next day Nelson laughingly told him that the New Haven lockup was ‘a gravy train’."
},
{
"ref": "1949, William Van O'Connor, American Quarterly, page 38",
"text": "Of course these foreigners want to come to America. […] To them America is the land of the free ride; and they want to climb aboard the gravy train, even though that means abandoning their friends and neighbors, the ashes of their fathers and the temples of their gods, to a struggle to which they themselves are no longer equal.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1970 December, Alex Poinsett, “Is There a Plot to Kill Mayor Hatcher?”, in Ebony, volume 26, number 2, Johnson Publishing, →ISSN, page 146",
"text": "Hatcher derailed the gravy train by consolidating City Hall operations into five general departments headed by three special assistants and two members of the Board of Works.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1975, Roger Waters (lyrics and music), “Have a Cigar”, in Wish You Were Here, performed by Pink Floyd",
"text": "And did we tell you the name of the game, boy? / We call it riding the gravy train",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2005, Kevin Craig, Hey Stranger! Letters from an All-American Loudmouth",
"text": "Freeloaders are a prime example of the people that will repeatedly burn you if they have the chance. […] They would much rather find someone with a generous nature, and ride that gravy train till the gravy runs out.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2006, Freddie L. Sirmans, Can the US Survive Doomsday, page 19",
"text": "This whole gay marriage clamor is really about spousal and other benefits that this welfare state provider has made so enticing. It's only natural that everybody wants to get on a gravy train or ride a free horse.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2007, Jon Garate, A Party of One: A Political Parody, page 25",
"text": "Free medical and schooling for illegals; Citizenship for babies of illegals; Free schooling; Free language education. On and on goes the gravy train. Who wouldn't bust into this country for the easy life.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2008, Christopher C. Horner, “Heretics, Speak Out”, in Red Hot Lies, Regnery Publishing, Conclusion, page 340",
"text": "It is clear that dissent can no longer be tolerated, and no one is above using their position[…]to stifle thought that frightens them or threatens to upset the gravy train.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2012, Andrew Holmes, The Painspotter's Guide to Broken Britain",
"text": "[…] This isn't so much the gravy train, but the express gravy train, and just like Eurostar, it runs a lot faster in Europe than in the UK.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"An occupation or situation that generates considerable income or benefits while requiring little effort and carrying little risk."
],
"id": "en-gravy_train-en-noun-owQkLo3Y",
"links": [
[
"occupation",
"occupation"
],
[
"situation",
"situation"
],
[
"income",
"income"
],
[
"benefit",
"benefit"
],
[
"effort",
"effort"
],
[
"risk",
"risk"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) An occupation or situation that generates considerable income or benefits while requiring little effort and carrying little risk."
],
"related": [
{
"word": "cushy number"
},
{
"word": "golden goose"
},
{
"word": "gold mine"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "sinecure"
}
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"word": "hillotolppa"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"word": "suojatyöpaikka"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"word": "palkkiovirka"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "poule aux œufs d’or"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "lauer Lenz"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"word": "zsíros állás"
},
{
"code": "is",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "létt starf (en vel launað)"
},
{
"code": "is",
"english": "to get on the gravy train",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"word": "komast á spena"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"word": "ottenere molto con poco sforzo"
},
{
"code": "lt",
"lang": "Lithuanian",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"word": "auksine zasis"
},
{
"code": "fa",
"lang": "Persian",
"roman": "pul-e moft",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"word": "پول مفت"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "ciepła posadka"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "mamata"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"english": "warm place",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "tjóploje mésto",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"word": "тёплое ме́сто"
},
{
"code": "sk",
"lang": "Slovak",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "teplé miesto/miestečko"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"word": "llevársela fácil"
},
{
"code": "uk",
"lang": "Ukrainian",
"roman": "teple misce",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"word": "тепле місце"
}
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "en-au-gravy train.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/94/En-au-gravy_train.ogg/En-au-gravy_train.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/En-au-gravy_train.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"word": "gravy train"
}
{
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "gravy"
},
"expansion": "gravy",
"name": "m"
},
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "hog train"
},
"expansion": "hog train",
"name": "m"
}
],
"etymology_text": "Said to be originally US railroad slang, referring to an easy, short haul that paid well. The word gravy by itself was used prior to any attestable use of gravy train to characterise cushy situations. Note also phrases with hog train as possible source of analogy.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "gravy trains",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "gravy train (plural gravy trains)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"related": [
{
"word": "cushy number"
},
{
"word": "golden goose"
},
{
"word": "gold mine"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English countable nouns",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English idioms",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English nouns",
"English terms with audio links",
"English terms with quotations"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1895 November, (as quoted by Michael Quinion) Courier of Connellsville",
"text": "Johnston claims that Reuben Nelson and another tall negro were in New Haven the night of the escape and that they broke into the lockup. Johnson further states that the next day Nelson laughingly told him that the New Haven lockup was ‘a gravy train’."
},
{
"ref": "1949, William Van O'Connor, American Quarterly, page 38",
"text": "Of course these foreigners want to come to America. […] To them America is the land of the free ride; and they want to climb aboard the gravy train, even though that means abandoning their friends and neighbors, the ashes of their fathers and the temples of their gods, to a struggle to which they themselves are no longer equal.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1970 December, Alex Poinsett, “Is There a Plot to Kill Mayor Hatcher?”, in Ebony, volume 26, number 2, Johnson Publishing, →ISSN, page 146",
"text": "Hatcher derailed the gravy train by consolidating City Hall operations into five general departments headed by three special assistants and two members of the Board of Works.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "1975, Roger Waters (lyrics and music), “Have a Cigar”, in Wish You Were Here, performed by Pink Floyd",
"text": "And did we tell you the name of the game, boy? / We call it riding the gravy train",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2005, Kevin Craig, Hey Stranger! Letters from an All-American Loudmouth",
"text": "Freeloaders are a prime example of the people that will repeatedly burn you if they have the chance. […] They would much rather find someone with a generous nature, and ride that gravy train till the gravy runs out.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2006, Freddie L. Sirmans, Can the US Survive Doomsday, page 19",
"text": "This whole gay marriage clamor is really about spousal and other benefits that this welfare state provider has made so enticing. It's only natural that everybody wants to get on a gravy train or ride a free horse.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2007, Jon Garate, A Party of One: A Political Parody, page 25",
"text": "Free medical and schooling for illegals; Citizenship for babies of illegals; Free schooling; Free language education. On and on goes the gravy train. Who wouldn't bust into this country for the easy life.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2008, Christopher C. Horner, “Heretics, Speak Out”, in Red Hot Lies, Regnery Publishing, Conclusion, page 340",
"text": "It is clear that dissent can no longer be tolerated, and no one is above using their position[…]to stifle thought that frightens them or threatens to upset the gravy train.",
"type": "quotation"
},
{
"ref": "2012, Andrew Holmes, The Painspotter's Guide to Broken Britain",
"text": "[…] This isn't so much the gravy train, but the express gravy train, and just like Eurostar, it runs a lot faster in Europe than in the UK.",
"type": "quotation"
}
],
"glosses": [
"An occupation or situation that generates considerable income or benefits while requiring little effort and carrying little risk."
],
"links": [
[
"occupation",
"occupation"
],
[
"situation",
"situation"
],
[
"income",
"income"
],
[
"benefit",
"benefit"
],
[
"effort",
"effort"
],
[
"risk",
"risk"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic) An occupation or situation that generates considerable income or benefits while requiring little effort and carrying little risk."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "sinecure"
}
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "en-au-gravy train.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/94/En-au-gravy_train.ogg/En-au-gravy_train.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/En-au-gravy_train.ogg",
"tags": [
"Australia"
],
"text": "Audio (AU)"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"word": "hillotolppa"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"word": "suojatyöpaikka"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"word": "palkkiovirka"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "poule aux œufs d’or"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "lauer Lenz"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"word": "zsíros állás"
},
{
"code": "is",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "létt starf (en vel launað)"
},
{
"code": "is",
"english": "to get on the gravy train",
"lang": "Icelandic",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"word": "komast á spena"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"word": "ottenere molto con poco sforzo"
},
{
"code": "lt",
"lang": "Lithuanian",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"word": "auksine zasis"
},
{
"code": "fa",
"lang": "Persian",
"roman": "pul-e moft",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"word": "پول مفت"
},
{
"code": "pl",
"lang": "Polish",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "ciepła posadka"
},
{
"code": "pt",
"lang": "Portuguese",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "mamata"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"english": "warm place",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "tjóploje mésto",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"word": "тёплое ме́сто"
},
{
"code": "sk",
"lang": "Slovak",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"tags": [
"neuter"
],
"word": "teplé miesto/miestečko"
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"word": "llevársela fácil"
},
{
"code": "uk",
"lang": "Ukrainian",
"roman": "teple misce",
"sense": "occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort",
"word": "тепле місце"
}
],
"word": "gravy train"
}
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-05-05 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-05-02 using wiktextract (f4fd8c9 and c9440ce). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
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