lays /leɪz/●(kill) the golden ˈgoose ( (kill) the goose that lays the golden ˈegg/ˈeggs) (destroy) sth that makes you rich, successful, etc.杀鸡取卵；（毁掉）摇钱树；（自绝）财源；（自毁）前程◆The government is worried that a new tax might kill the golden goose by scaring away foreign investment.政府担心新税收会吓跑外国投资者，从而断了财路。◆The banks made vast profits from an energy trader that had become the golden goose of Wall Street.各大银行已从华尔街的摇钱树 － 一个能源交易商身上赚了不少钱。ORIGINThis comes from an ancient Greek story about a farmer who had a goose that laid golden eggs. The farmer thought that if he killed the goose he could get all the eggs inside. However, by killing the goose, he lost everything.这个谚语源于古希腊传说。一位农夫有一只会下金蛋的鹅，他认为把鹅杀了就能取出全部金蛋，结果落得一场空。