Golden ticket

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Grammarist

The term golden ticket comes from a certain literary work of fiction. We will look at the meaning of the noun golden ticket, where it comes from, who invented it and some examples of its use in sentences.

A golden ticket is something that gives the holder a chance at a significant opportunity or prize. A golden ticket may be a qualification, a circumstance or a decision that gives the recipient a chance at a significant opportunity or prize. The term golden ticket was coined by Roald Dahl in the children’s novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In the story, characters who find golden tickets inside their chocolate bars are allowed entry into the mysterious chocolate factory that is owned by Willy Wonka. Two popular movies have been filmed depicting the story of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, one starring Gene Wilder in the title role and one starring Johnny Depp in the title role. The book was published in 1964. Today the term golden ticket is often used figuratively to describe a qualification, circumstance or decision that gives someone a chance to achieve something lucrative. The plural form of golden ticket is golden tickets.

Examples

The violent activity of the Knights and their virulent supporters in Berks County had little parallel in York County, where it appears the only “members” were those naive farmers who had paid their buck for the golden ticket. (The York Daily Register)

But what happened in 1867 would repeat itself over and over again — because having a library card was as magical as having any golden ticket handed out by Willy Wonka. (The Des Moines Register)

Designed to attract investment from wealthy foreigners, the so-called “golden ticket” visa programme grants residency to those investing at least A$5 million (S$5.2 million) over four years or A$15 million over 12 months. (The Straits Times)