welfare Cadillac

noun

The case of a person or group receiving public benefits, although the benefits are not actually needed by the recipient or are obtained by fraud.

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Meanings

nounwelfare Cadillac (plural welfare Cadillacs)

plural welfare Cadillacs

  1. USidiomaticThe case of a person or group receiving public benefits, although the benefits are not actually needed by the recipient or are obtained by fraud.

Origin

The imagery is of a person arriving at a welfare office in a Cadillac automobile (an expensive car) to pick up a welfare payment. The implication is that the person does not need the benefit, or that the benefits are too generous.

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Cite this entry
APA

welfare Cadillac. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/welfare%20Cadillac

MLA

“welfare Cadillac.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/welfare%20Cadillac. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “welfare Cadillac,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/welfare%20Cadillac.

Source: welfare Cadillac on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.