meal ticket
Someone supporting you
A meal ticket is literally a voucher exchangeable for food, but the figurative sense dominates: a person or thing that provides financial support or livelihood.
A spouse, job, or talent can be someone's meal ticket: Acting was her meal ticket for thirty years.
The term often implies dependence or exploitation—using someone primarily for material benefit rather than affection.
Primary household earner
- providerOne who furnishes things
- sugar daddyWealthy older romantic benefactor
- sugar mamaFemale financial sponsor of romance
- keptDidn't give away
gravy train · free ride · mooch · freeloader · sponge · leech · parasite · gold digger
Interrupt continuity
- chanceLikelihood of occurrence
- golden gooseReliable profit source
- cash cowDependable income source
- windfallUnanticipated lucky gain
prospect · gateway · stepping stone · passport · key · entry · access · opening
Regular monetary receipts
- jobPaid position of employment
- employmentPaid occupation status
- salaryFixed periodic employment payment
- wagesPayment for work
paycheck · career · profession · occupation · earning · work · vocation · trade
Protection against failure
- guaranteeFormal promise of fulfillment
- insuranceContractual risk coverage
- stabilityResistance to displacement
- fallbackAlternative if primary fails
backup · cushion · nest egg · anchor · assurance · protection · reliability · dependability
Certificate for reduced price
- tokenRepresentative placeholder
- passMove beyond or decline
- chitInformal IOU or receipt
- stubRetained portion after detachment
card · cafeteria · canteen · commissary · redemption · ration card · food stamp
breadwinner
Primary household earner
- providerOne who furnishes things
- sugar daddyWealthy older romantic benefactor
- sugar mamaFemale financial sponsor of romance
kept · gravy train · free ride · mooch · freeloader · sponge · leech · parasite · gold digger · hanger-on
break
Interrupt continuity
- chanceLikelihood of occurrence
- golden gooseReliable profit source
- cash cowDependable income source
windfall · prospect · gateway · stepping stone · passport · key · entry · access · opening · advantage
income
Regular monetary receipts
- jobPaid position of employment
- employmentPaid occupation status
- salaryFixed periodic employment payment
wages · paycheck · career · profession · occupation · earning · work · vocation · trade · labor
safety net
Protection against failure
- guaranteeFormal promise of fulfillment
- insuranceContractual risk coverage
- stabilityResistance to displacement
fallback · backup · cushion · nest egg · anchor · assurance · protection · reliability · dependability · certainty
coupon
Certificate for reduced price
stub · card · cafeteria · canteen · commissary · redemption · ration card · food stamp
- school lunchpizza, chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, chocolate milk, french fries
- easy moneyeasy money, quick buck, fast cash, windfall, gravy train
- advantagesedge, leverage, upper hand, leg up, head start
- cafeterialunch line, menu, line, tray, food counter
- income sourcessalary, wages, hourly pay, wage, commission
- money slangbucks, dough, moolah, cheddar, cash
meal ticketself-sufficiency
Independence from outside aid
independence · self-reliance · self-support · autonomy · pulling one's own weight
meal, ticket, meals, mealtime, tickets, ticketed, ticketing, mealy, mealiness