meal ticket
7
5.8
- noun
- /ˈmil ˈtɪkɪt/
- Informal
:
fuente de ingresos
- So you lost your house, your meal ticket, everything.
I was just so invested, like you genuinely saw it as a meal ticket, right?
- I was just so invested, like you genuinely saw it as a meal ticket, right?
- And then when you get there, you realize it ain't that great because you're literally then a meal ticket, a target.
Examples
-
A huge majority of Americans still get their meal ticket from the government, and as long as the money flows, the revolution can start another day.
Blog text (33) -
Many young athletes believe that a sports scholarship can be their meal ticket to a better future.
-
"He's lost his meal ticket.
Fiction book (1995) -
A doctor in a Jaguar must've looked like a pretty good meal ticket.
Fiction book (2000) -
I agree, but don't think Juicy Joe will give up his meal ticket.
Blog text (10) -
I hear she's Keaton's meal ticket.
Fiction book (1996) -
You've got it all figured to get yourself a meal ticket for life, haven't you?
-
Anything that diverts part of it into private funds and insurance premiums is a meal ticket for the elite of the predator state.
Blog text (10) -
Ultimately, in fact, she agreed with what everyone knew Adam thought but had never put into words: Miles and Fergus were their mother's sons and, like Betty, saw Adam Kingsley only in terms of their meal ticket.
Fiction book (1996) -
In the film industry, finding a successful star can become your meal ticket for years to come.
Antonyms
How Supportive
Surface Forms
Morphology
meal + ticket
The compound links 'meal' (sustenance) with 'ticket' (an entitlement or means of access), so a learner could plausibly infer 'something that secures meals' — i.e. a source of support or income. However, this requires a metaphorical shift from a literal entitlement to the abstract notion of regular income or livelihood, so the relation is only partially predictable for a B1 learner.
Etymology
The idiom meal ticket comes from the idea of a ticket that gives you a regular meal. People used this image for a job or person who keeps you fed, so it means 'a source of income or support'.