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Glite Dictionary
to punch one's ticket

to punch one's ticket

8.5
To get a sure chance to succeed, for example a job or a place on a team
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : asegurar su futuro
  • By acing her medical school exams, she punched her ticket to a top residency.

Examples

  • After years of hard work, he punched his ticket to the big leagues.

  • Landing that publishing deal finally punched his ticket to literary fame.

  • Winning the championship really punched his ticket to the national team.

  • She finally punched her ticket to success!

  • By acing her medical school exams, she punched her ticket to a top residency.

  • Landing that publishing deal finally punched his ticket to literary fame.

  • Winning the championship really punched his ticket to the national team.

Antonyms

to miss an opportunity
14 2.8

Fail to use a chance to do something you want

How Certain

to punch one's ticket
  • Informal
8.5
to secure
324 3.9
to qualify
264 3.0
to aim for
79 2.8

Surface Forms

punch one's ticket infinitive
punched one's ticket past
punched one's ticket past participle
punching one's ticket present participle
punches one's ticket third person singular

Morphology

punch + one + ticket

The constituents ('punch' = make a hole/mark, 'ticket' = pass or permit) do suggest the idea of validating or securing a pass, so a learner who knows the words could plausibly infer a sense related to obtaining or confirming access. However, the extension to a guaranteed opportunity or path to success relies on a cultural/idiomatic metaphor (punching/validating a ticket or timecard) that is not fully predictable for a B1 learner without prior exposure, so the expression is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Punch one's ticket comes from old paper travel tickets that a conductor would punch with a hole to show you had paid and could get on the train. Getting your ticket punched meant your place was secure, so today the phrase means 'to secure a guaranteed opportunity'.