hidden gold mine
- noun
- Informal
:
mina de oro oculta
- The old library is a hidden gold mine of information.
Examples
-
Many small businesses are a hidden gold mine for investors.
-
The old files turned out to be a hidden gold mine of market research data.
-
Her travel blog is a hidden gold mine for anyone planning a trip to Europe.
-
This small library is a hidden gold mine for rare historical books.
-
Her travel blog is a hidden gold mine for anyone planning a trip to Europe.
-
The old files turned out to be a hidden gold mine of market research data.
-
This small library is a hidden gold mine for rare historical books.
Synonyms
21
3.2
A source of many useful things like information or money
18
3.2
A rare chance to do something important
14
3.6
Valuable things hidden underground, like gold or jewels
12
6.8
A large rich source of valuable things like gold or information
8
7.5
A discovery or idea that makes a lot of money after hard work
5
4.1
A rich source of useful things or information
4
4.8
A very good person, place, or thing that few people know about
4
3.5
Valuable things that someone keeps out of sight so others cannot find them easily
A chance to make money in a place or situation
How Obvious
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is directly compositional: 'gold mine' commonly denotes a rich/valuable source and 'hidden' simply qualifies it as not immediately visible, so the meaning 'a valuable source not obvious or accessible' follows straightforwardly from the parts. This is a common, cross-linguistic metaphorical pattern using frequent, literal words, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will very likely infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Hidden gold mine comes from the image of a rich gold mine that is hidden under the ground and must be found. That's why when something is called a hidden gold mine, people mean 'a valuable source' that is not obvious at first.