cushy number

plural cushy numbers

1. UKinformalA job or task that is easy to do; a position that requires little work or is undemanding; a sinecure.

   At this rate Wednesdays [PMQs] could become a cushy number for the Labour leader.

   2018 May 16, John Crace, “Corbyn finds the formula to fire up the Maybot. Just ask after Brexit”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

   3 more examples

   And they knew who the winners were: those refugees on the other side of the city; the next-door neighbour who’d got a cushy number on benefits.

   2019 August 6, Aditya Chakrabortty, “The super-rich have made Britain into a nation of losers”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

   The band’s ascent is exciting and bewildering – until it isn’t. When Nirvana ends, he turns down a cushy number playing drums for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers to record Foo Fighters’ terrific debut album in a makeshift home studio, playing every instrument himself.

   2021 October 17, Kitty Empire, “The Storyteller by Dave Grohl – a Foo Fighter pulls his punches”, in The Observer, →ISSN

   Few professions’ pay have aroused such incredulous ire as train drivers: earning an average of nearly £70,000 a year, going on strike to demand more, and they don’t even have to steer. But if it really is such a cushy number, why doesn’t Britain have enough drivers – and what does it take to join their ranks?

   2025 May 11, Gwyn Topham, “‘It’s an illogical job’: Why driving a train isn’t as cushy as it might seem”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

   Synonyms: soft snap, soft thing