Word.ws English Dictionary

on a silver platter

on a silver platter prepositional phrase: being given something too easily, especially more than one deserves.

Prepositional phrase

  1. (idiomatic) Being given something too easily, especially more than one deserves.
    • The plainest and simplest is that it is "up to" the automobile workers themselves. Quite obviously, "nothing is going to be handed to them on a silver platter!" Their intelligence, courage and solidarity must answer the question which modern industry puts to them.1908, Pamphlets on Trade Unions - Volume 1, page 56
    • On the other hand, the youth should not wait for an invitation to be active and for readymade programs and plans of actions presented to them on a silver platter. The youth themselves should demonstrate initiative..1973, United States Joint Publications Research Service, Translations on Near East and North Africa - Issues 878-886, Joint Publications Research Service, page 73

Questions about on a silver platter

What does on a silver platter mean?
On a silver platter means being given something too easily, especially more than one deserves.
What part of speech is on a silver platter?
On a silver platter is a prepositional phrase.

Words near on a silver platter in the dictionary

  1. on a platter
  2. on a promise
  3. on a regular basis
  4. on a roll
  5. on a shoestring
  6. on a silver platter
  7. on a sixpence
  8. on a stick
  9. on a stretch
  10. on a string
  11. on a sudden

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: on a silver platter (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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