meal ticket
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meal ticket
n.
1. A card or ticket entitling the holder to a meal or meals.
2. Informal A person or thing depended on as a source of financial support.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
meal ticket
n
slang a person, situation, etc, providing a source of livelihood or income
[from original US sense of ticket entitling holder to a meal]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
meal′ tick`et
n.
1. a ticket that entitles the bearer to meals.
2. someone or something necessary for one's livelihood.
[1865–70]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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| Noun | 1. |  meal ticket - a source of income or livelihood colloquialism - a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech bread and butter, keep, livelihood, sustenance, living, support - the financial means whereby one lives; "each child was expected to pay for their keep"; "he applied to the state for support"; "he could no longer earn his own livelihood" |
| 2. |  meal ticket - coupon redeemable at a restaurant and entitling the holder to a meal |
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