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Glite Dictionary
on the coattails

on the coattails

7.7
Get success without earning it because someone more famous helped you
  • idiom
translation icon : a costa de
  • Many politicians were elected on the coattails of a popular leader.

Examples

  • He got the promotion on the coattails of his colleague's hard work.

  • She always rides on the coattails of her brother's achievements.

  • He gained his reputation on the coattails of his older brother's fame.

  • The new manager rose to power on the coattails of her predecessor's accomplishments.

  • He gained his reputation on the coattails of his older brother's fame.

  • Many politicians were elected on the coattails of a popular leader.

  • The new manager rose to power on the coattails of her predecessor's accomplishments.

Synonyms

hitch one's wagon to
vson the coattails
  • Informal
1 7.4

To join a successful person or group to gain advantage

is more about immediate following and undeserved benefit than planned alignment
on one's coattails
vson the coattails
  • Informal
1 7.4

Gain an advantage from someone else's success without doing much work

is specifically about immediate advantage often received without real merit
on the coattails of
vson the coattails
7.1

Getting success because someone more successful already did the work

is an immediate and often undeserved benefit after someone else's success
to ride on someone's coattail
vson the coattails
  • Informal
6.9

Use another person's success to get benefits without much effort

focuses on immediate, often undeserved benefit rather than deliberate cooperation
to ride on the back of
vson the coattails
5.4

To use past success to help you now

is more immediate and tied to a recent person's success rather than general dependence

How Dependent

on the coattails
7.7
affected
3.6
independent
984 2.3

Surface Forms

on the coattails positive

Morphology

on + the + coattails

The phrase uses the literal image of 'coattails' (the tails of a coat) together with the locative 'on' to create a metaphor meaning 'to follow someone closely and benefit from their success.' Because the metaphorical sense (gaining advantage from another's success, often undeserved) is an extension of the literal image but not fully predictable from the parts, a B1 learner might guess a sense of following but not reliably derive the nuance of benefiting, so it is partially transparent.

Etymology

The idiom on the coattails comes from the image of someone holding onto another person's long coattails and being carried along without doing the work. So, being on the coattails of someone today means 'to benefit from another person's success'.