Difference between revisions 68570498 and 70711083 on enwiki

:: ''For the musical group, see [[Gravy Train!!!!]]''
:: ''For the rock group, see [[Gravy Train (Rock Group)]]''

"'''Gravy train'''" is an [[Idiom|idiomatic expression]] that is used to refer to any endeavor that can be completed without much work input.  It derives from the idea that ''[[gravy]]'' is a rich and luxurious [[food]], high in [[nutrition]]al value, and adds the idea of a ''[[train]]'', which can take you somewhere without you having to do anything other than to buy a ticket (or [[stowaway]]).  The basic idea is that if you are on a train where much gravy is served, not only are you headed somewhere, but the way to get there is easy and full of comfortlucrative endeavor. 

The word "gravy" by itself was used prior to the invention of the phrase "gravy train" as an [[interjection]] of pleasure at something that's easy to do with a great reward, or as an adjective to describe such a situation, à la 'cushy'.

==See also==
*[[Gravy Train (Dog Food)]]

==External links and references==
*[http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-gra4.htm Michael Quinion] "in the ''Courier of Connellsville'' (also in Pennsylvania) in November [[1895]], almost two decades before the previously oldest known example: ''Johnston claims that Reuben Nelson and another tall negro were in New Haven the night of the escape and that they broke into the lockup. Johnson further states that the next day Kelson laughingly told him that the New Haven lockup was "a gravy train." '' "
*[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=gravy] An etymology for the phrase "gravy train"
*Used in [[Pink Floyd]]'s 1975 song [[Have a Cigar]]: "And did we tell you the name of the game, boy, we call it riding the gravy train."