gravy boat

gravy boat (plural gravy boats)

1. A dish with a handle and spout, used to serve gravy or other sauces.

   Synonym: sauceboat

2. (figuratively) A source of easily obtained money or benefits.

   Synonym: gravy train

   • 1946, The Magazine of Wall Street and Business Analyst:

     Not only have suggestions for their elimination evoked a great hue and cry of protest, but other pressure groups are plugging diligently in an effort to get aboard the "gravy boat."

   • 1949, United States. Congress, Congressional Record:

     Everybody had climbed aboard the "gravy boat”—except the landlord; and he wanted to get in, too.

   • 1963, New Zealand. Parliament, Parliamentary Debates - Volume 332, page 2086:

     Through drawing attention to that, many organisations which had never previously put in an application for assistance had tried to get on the gravy boat.

   • 2011, Albino Barrera, Market Complicity and Christian Ethics, page 154:

     This herd behavior in not wanting to miss the gravy boat led to a collective lowering of standards that ended with the 2008 financial implosion.