piece of the pie

plural pieces of the pie

1. idiomaticinformalbankingA personal share of a limited resource.

   This fact will dramatically affect all things financial and economic, including your little piece of the pie.

   2012, J. F. Swartz, Theft of the American Dream: Understanding the Financial Crisis, →ISBN

   3 more examples

   I'm astonished at the passivity of people who are so worried about themselves, who are so concerned about protecting their piece of the pie, who are not willing to make the kind of political struggle that's going to make a difference between life and death for so many women who don't have the tremendous privilege of publishing a book.

   1985 December 28, Mara Math, quoting Andrea Dworkin, “Andrea Dworkin Talks about Feminism and Pornography”, in Gay Community News, volume 13, number 24, page 9

   Since soulless capitalism is born of a deprivation mentality in which all are seen as competing against one another, every time one of his friends takes a bigger piece of the pie, it is his piece that is being taken.

   2008, Shmuley Boteach, The Broken American Male: And How to Fix Him, →ISBN

   They are looking for the loopholes that will give them a bigger piece of the pie, loopholes that will help them in their fight to be top dog.

   2012, Artie Woodington, Stormy Roads We Trod: Before and After Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., →ISBN

   Synonyms: share of the pie

2. idiomaticinformalA piece of the action, usually of one's share from the financial proceeds of an illicit activity.
3. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see piece, pie.