drawing card

Related to drawing card: draw out, draw a line, roughshod

drawing card

Someone used to attract a crowd to an event. Bill Gates was definitely the drawing card for the computer security conference this year.
See also: card, drawing
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

drawing card

Fig. an attraction that helps bring patrons to a place of entertainment. The comedian was a real drawing card at the night club.
See also: card, drawing
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

drawing card

A feature or event that attracts a large audience. For example, This Italian tenor is always a good drawing card. Card in this idiom refers to a large poster containing an advertisement for something, often some sort of entertainment. [Late 1800s]
See also: card, drawing
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
See also:
  • a wild card
  • wild card
  • a/your trump card
  • someone's trump card
  • trump card
  • a calling card
  • calling card
  • card in
  • idiot card
  • card out
References in periodicals archive
A deft blend of sports history and thriller, Drawing Card demonstrates the danger of a woman scorned, especially one with a mean curve ball." Annie Cardello is believable as the "Drawing Card" of the title, pitching local baseball in Cleveland, exemplifying her Sicilian roots.
A grand prize of a Polo Vivo is the main drawing card in a promotion of Namibian products at the Auas Valley shopping complex next weekend.
What they have in mind is making the waterfront an even bigger drawing card by creating a gathering place for festival-goers, vendors and tourists.
Back with a reworking of his 1992 production, Peter Sellars directs Dawn Upshaw in the Olivier Messiaen opera "Saint Francis of Assisi." Also a drawing card for theater followers, Peter Zadek stages Kurt Weill's "The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny," with Salzburg opera favorites Jerry Hadley and Catherine Malfitano.
And, apart from Mikhail Baryshnikov, the former ballet superstar who is the company's chief drawing card, there is no permanent corps of dancers.
The San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area is a major drawing card in a budding local ecotourism industry that attracts people interested in desert ecology.
He added that participants between 8 and 80 years of age in this competition, is an added drawing card for the company as a sponsor as the flagship sponsorship of this competition has ensured that this event to reaches out to everyone.
The abundance of wood waste in the Hearst area was a major drawing card in their site search, says Daniel Sigouin, general manager of the Hearst Economic Development Corporation.
Neary has been likened by HBO to the American star Arturo Gatti and a meeting with the former IBF champion, like Neary a relentlessly brave pressure-fighter, would be a huge drawing card.
"Safety was the drawing card, and the rest of the offerings seemed pretty lightweight," says George Hopper, Extension forest specialist with the University of Tennessee.
With many empty downtown storefronts and few small businesses popping up, Nipigon officials have been working with Thunder Bay consultants to develop a Paddle to the Sea park as a major tourism drawing card as part of the downtown revitalization project.
Officials with the Town of Fort Frances are hopeful the addition of a condominium along the town's waterfront will act as a drawing card to attract new residents to the area.
The omission of chemicals has allowed him to develop a niche product that acts as a drawing card for his business.
The construction of the new regional hospital, slated to be operating by summer 2003, has been a real drawing card in physician recruitment.
Thunder Bay's contribution to the cultural aspect of the city has been a drawing card for those looking to relocate to the area, according to Jane Bjorn, president of the Thunder Bay Regional Arts Council.