gravy boat

plural gravy boats

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

   Synonyms: sauceboat

2. figurativelyA source of easily obtained money or benefits.

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

   1949, United States. Congress, Congressional Record

   3 more examples

   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."

   1946, The Magazine of Wall Street and Business Analyst

   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.

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

   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.

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

   Synonyms: gravy train