big-ticket item, a

big-ticket item, a

An expensive purchase; a large outlay. Ticket refers either to the price tag or to the banking term meaning a preliminary record of a transaction before it is posted in a permanent book of account. The term originated in the United States about 1940 and is a borderline cliché.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • take the Browns to the Super Bowl
  • eye to the main chance, have an
  • have an eye for the main chance
  • have an eye on/for/to the main chance
  • have an eye to/for the main chance
  • an eye for the main chance
  • an eye on/for/to the main chance
  • old as the hills, (as)
  • amateur hour
  • lain