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Glite Dictionary
to write one's own ticket

to write one's own ticket

5 7.7
To be able to choose your own job or future because you are successful
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : marcar su propio camino
  • After finishing the project on time, she realized she could write her own ticket at the company.
  • able to write one's own ticket

Examples

  • The demand is high; the pay is good; you can pretty much write your own ticket in many areas.

    Blog text (14)

  • Someone with Sinofsky's talents for managing huge software development projects probably means he can write his own ticket.

    Blog text (25)

  • You do this, you write your own ticket.

    Meg 2: The Trench (2023)

  • You could have written your own ticket.

    Power Rangers (2017)

  • And if you do this, you can write your own ticket.

    Mobsters (1991)

  • You can write your own ticket.

    Valentino (1977)

  • "Come on, David, a smart boy like you can write his own ticket."

    Fiction book (1996)

  • But you can write your own ticket in the Valley after this.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • The kid can write his own ticket, and that's good for everybody.

    Stir of Echoes (1999)

  • You can write your own ticket now, Paulie.

    Power of Attorney (1995)

How Free

to write one's own ticket
  • Informal
5 7.7
to call the shots
  • Informal
99 4.2
to control
∞ 2.4

Surface Forms

write one's own ticket infinitive
writing one's own ticket present participle
writes one's own ticket third person singular
wrote one's own ticket past
written one's own ticket past participle

Morphology

write + one + own + ticket

The components 'write' (to create) and 'ticket' (a pass or permission) give a metaphoric image of creating your own pass or opportunity, so a learner might partially infer a sense of creating one's own options. However, the specific idiomatic meaning 'be in a position to determine your own future/terms' is conventionalized and not fully predictable from the parts alone, so a B1 learner who only knows the constituents would likely only partially grasp it without prior exposure.

Etymology

Write one's own ticket may come from the image of a blank travel ticket that you can write your destination on, so you decide where to go. That's why it now means 'to be able to choose your own future and what you want', often because of your skills or success.