What is a gravy train?

BRY2K

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'. An easy task. In politics, "gravy train" refers to a depraved gorging on luxuries, since someone else foots the bill. The gravy train is a form of transport by which a person can make a lot of money for no more effort than riding on it. It was heaven-sent as an expression to be borrowed when writing in recent years about the excessive pay and bonuses of those fat cats who run the British railways. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravy_train http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-gra4.htm Jun 29 08, 4:41 PM

queproblema

"GRAVY TRAIN - 'In the 1920s, railroad men invented the express to 'ride the gravy train' to describe a run on which there was good pay and little work. The words were quickly adopted into general speech, meaning to have an easy job that pays well, or, more commonly, to be prosperous. 'Gravy,' however, had been slang for easy money since the early 1900s.' From 'Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins' by Robert Hendrickson (Facts on File, New York, 1997). http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/5/messages/516.html Jun 29 08, 8:47 PM

Professer

The term ‘Gravy Train’ by definition is Northern Slang for –‘An occupation or other source of income that requires little effort while yielding considerable profit’. As regards the closely related term ‘ to ride the gravy train’, it is said to be of American origin, but it did not reach common usage in the UK until the middle 1970s. http://www.davalmusic.co.uk/gravytrain.htm It is also a name o a rock band Jun 30 08, 4:22 AM