gravy train
gravy train noun: an occupation or situation that generates considerable income or benefits while requiring little effort and carrying little risk.
Noun
gravy train (plural gravy trains)
- An occupation or situation that generates considerable income or benefits while requiring little effort and carrying little risk.
- Johnston claims that Reuben Nelson and another tall negro were in New Haven the night of the escape and that they broke into the lockup. Johnson further states that the next day Nelson laughingly told him that the New Haven lockup was ‘a gravy train’.1895 November, (as quoted by Michael Quinion) Courier of Connellsville
- Of course these foreigners want to come to America. […] To them America is the land of the free ride; and they want to climb aboard the gravy train, even though that means abandoning their friends and neighbors, the ashes of their fathers and the temples of their gods, to a struggle to which they...1949, William Van O'Connor, American Quarterly, page 38
- Synonyms:
- sinecure
gravy train meaning in Persian
gravy train in Persian
- occupation that generates considerable income with little or less effort
- پول مفت pul-e moft
Examples of gravy train in a sentence
- Hatcher derailed the gravy train by consolidating City Hall operations into five general departments headed by three special assistants and two members of the Board of Works.1970 December, Alex Poinsett, “Is There a Plot to Kill Mayor Hatcher?”, in Ebony, volume 26, number 2, Johnson Publishing, →ISSN, page 146:
- And did we tell you the name of the game, boy? / We call it riding the gravy train1975, Roger Waters, “Have a Cigar”, in Wish You Were Here, performed by Pink Floyd:
- It's only natural that everybody wants to get on a gravy train or ride a free horse.2006, Freddie L. Sirmans, Can the US Survive Doomsday, →ISBN, page 19:
- It is clear that dissent can no longer be tolerated, and no one is above using their position[…]to stifle thought that frightens them or threatens to upset the gravy train.2008, Christopher C. Horner, “Heretics, Speak Out”, in Red Hot Lies, Regnery Publishing, →ISBN, Conclusion, page 340:
Synonyms of gravy train
Forms of gravy train
| plural | gravy trains |
|---|
Origin of gravy train
Said to be originally US railroad slang, referring to an easy, short haul that paid well. The word gravy by itself was used prior to any attestable use of gravy train to characterize cushy situations. Note also phrases with hog train as a possible source of analogy.
Questions about gravy train
- What does gravy train mean?
- Gravy train means an occupation or situation that generates considerable income or benefits while requiring little effort and carrying little risk.
- What is gravy train in Persian?
- Gravy train in Persian is پول مفت (pul-e moft). See Gravy train meaning in Persian.
- How do you use gravy train in a sentence?
- Hatcher derailed the gravy train by consolidating City Hall operations into five general departments headed by three special assistants and two members of the Board of Works.
- What part of speech is gravy train?
- Gravy train is a noun.
- What is the plural of gravy train?
- The plural of gravy train is gravy trains.
Words near gravy train in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: gravy train (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-gravy train.ogg.
Cite this entry: “gravy train.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/gravy_train. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.