gravy
be on the gravy train
To be in a state, position, or job where one makes an excessive amount of money without expending much or any effort. I'll be on the gravy train once I get paid from the settlement of the lawsuit! My brother has been on the gravy train ever since he married his wife, whose family owns one of the largest oil companies in the world.
See also: gravy, on, train
board the gravy train
To come into a state, position, or job that allows one to continuously gain or draw upon a significant amount of money without expending much or any effort. The settlement of this lawsuit will help me to board the gravy train. My brother boarded the gravy train by marrying into a family that owns one of the largest oil companies in the world.
See also: board, gravy, train
Good gravy!
An exclamation of surprise. Good gravy, you scared me! I didn't expect to see you here—good gravy!
See also: good
gravy
1. slang A positive occurrence, typically beyond one's hopes or expectations; a bonus. I've had the time of my life working on this project. If I make money from it, then that's just gravy.
2. slang Easily obtained profit or money. A: "I can't believe we made so much money from that simple project." B: "I know, it's all gravy."
3. slang Great or excellent. Try not to get so stressed out, man—everything's gravy.
have gravy on (one's) grits
slang To be wealthy. They must have gravy on their grits if they own a huge house like that. After working so many low-paying jobs, I'm still not used to having gravy on my grits all of a sudden.
See also: gravy, grits, have, on
on the gravy train
In a state, position, or job where one makes an excessive amount of money without expending much or any effort. I'll be on the gravy train once I get paid from the settlement of the lawsuit! My brother ended up on the gravy train when he married his wife, whose family owns one of the largest oil companies in the world.
See also: gravy, on, train
red gravy
1. slang A sauce used in Creole, Haitian, and New Orleans cuisine made by sautéing tomatoes, celery, bell peppers, onions, and garlic with a particular mixture or herbs and spices. More formally known as "Creole sauce." Primarily heard in US. My grandmother used to make an amazing red gravy. It would fill the entire house with the most incredible smell as the peppers and onions cooked with the tomatoes.
2. slang An Italian or Italian-American tomato sauce, especially marinara sauce. Primarily heard in US. My mother could be somewhat orthodox about her pasta, so she looked at me aghast when I said I was serving ravioli with a truffle-cream sauce instead of red gravy.
See also: gravy, red
ride the gravy train
To be in a state, position, or job where one makes an excessive amount of money without expending much or any effort. I'll be riding the gravy train once I get paid from the settlement of the lawsuit! My brother has been riding the gravy train ever since he married his wife, whose family owns one of the largest oil companies in the world.
See also: gravy, ride, train
the gravy train
A state, position, or job in which one makes an excessive amount of money without expending much or any effort. I'll be on the gravy train once I get paid from the settlement of the lawsuit! My brother ended up on the gravy train when he married his wife, whose family owns one of the largest oil companies in the world.
See also: gravy, train
the rest is (just) gravy
1. The rest (of some project, journey, process, etc.) will be very easy and straightforward to complete or accomplish. They managed to defeat the best team in the league already, but anyone who thinks the rest will be gravy for them is fooling themselves. The biggest issue is getting the servers up and running—after that, the rest is gravy.
2. Any additional elements will be an unexpected or unrequired bonus. Typically said of additional monetary earnings, but often applied in other ways as well. It should be a pretty self-sustaining revenue stream, so once we pay off the initial costs for materials, equipment, and set-up, then the rest is gravy. The most important thing in my eyes is for them to get the characters from the books right in the film. If they do that, then the rest is just gravy to me.
See also: gravy, rest
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
(the) rest is gravy
Fig. Any additional money received is just an easily acquired bonus. There is some cost involved in buying the raw materials, and the cost of manufacturing is negligible. When we pay off the costs, the rest is gravy.
See also: gravy, rest
ride the gravy train
Fig. to live in ease or luxury. 1/7 had a million dollars, I sure could ride the gravy train. I wouldn't like loafing if I were rich. I don't want to ride the gravy train.
See also: gravy, ride, train
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
gravy train, ride the
Experience excessive ease, success, or profit, especially undeservedly. For example, Now that his brother is paying all his bills, Jim is riding the gravy train. The word gravy has long meant "easy profits," and the term is believed to come from 19th-century railroad slang, although the earliest recorded use dates from the early 1900s. W.C. Handy used it in one of his famous blues songs written in 1914, in which he bemoans falling off the gravy train. Also see easy street.
See also: gravy, ride
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
a gravy train
COMMON If you describe something as a gravy train, you mean it is an easy way of earning a lot of money over a long period. Software companies realise that the gravy train can't go on for much longer as the recession causes prices to fall. The boardroom gravy train continued to roll happily along yesterday, with news of pay-offs to three executives totalling nearly 1.4 million pounds. Note: You usually use this expression in a disapproving way. Note: In the United States, `gravy' was slang for money or profit. Railway workers invented this expression in the early 1920s to describe a regular journey which provided good pay for little work.
See also: gravy, train
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.
board (or climb on) the gravy train
obtain access to an easy source of financial gain. informalGravy is an informal term for ‘money easily acquired’.
See also: board, gravy, train
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
the ˈgravy train
(informal, especially American English) (of a particular job or situation) an easy way of getting a lot of money and other benefits: Financial services produce very high earnings, and a lot of people are trying to get onto the gravy train.See also: gravy, train
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
(Good) gravy!
exclam. Good! Good gravy! Are you still here?
See also: good
gravy!
verbSee Good gravy!
gravy
1. n. extra or easy money; easy profit. After I pay expenses, the rest is pure gravy.
2. mod. good. Man, her shape is gravy!
3. Go to (Good) gravy!
gravy train
n. a job that brings in a steady supply of easy money or gravy. This kind of job is a real gravy train.
See also: gravy, train
have gravy on one’s grits
tv. to be rich. He got himself a good job and has gravy on his grits while I’m still eating taters.
See also: gravy, grits, have, on
red gravy
n. blood. If you’re gonna pick your scabs, keep your red gravy and stuff off me!
See also: gravy, red
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
gravy train, the
Easy money; the good life, obtained with little effort. This American slang term became current during the financial boom of the 1920s. It originated in railroad slang, where “gravy train” meant a run on which there was good pay and little work. (Gravy itself became slang for easy money, or an illicit profit obtained through graft, in the early 1900s.) “There was a moment . . . when the whole Jocelyn sideshow seemed to be boarding the gravy train . . . on to fatter triumphs” (Mary McCarthy, The Groves of Academe, 1953).
See also: gravy
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
- be on the gravy train
- gravy train
- gravy train, the
- on the gravy train
- the gravy train
- a gravy train
- ride the gravy train
- gravy train, ride the
- board the gravy train
- train