on a silver platter
Meaning: Given to someone without any effort on their part.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “The team handed their rivals the win on a silver platter.”
Category: Food & Drink
Origin: Food served on silver is presented grandly to the diner, who does nothing to get it. The phrase echoes the earlier "born with a silver spoon" and is common from the 20th century.
Equivalents in other languages
- Swedish: Att glida in på en räkmacka — literally: To slide in on a shrimp sandwich
- Turkish: Armut piş, ağzıma düş — literally: Cook, pear, and fall into my mouth
More idioms — Food & Drink
- like two peas in a pod — Very similar in looks or character.
- cool as a cucumber — Very calm, especially under pressure.
- too many cooks spoil the broth — When too many people work on something, the result is worse.
- toss one's cookies — To vomit.
- manna from heaven — Something good that arrives unexpectedly just when it is needed.
- cook the books — To falsify figures, especially accounts.
More English idioms
- above board — Honest and open, with nothing hidden.
- stake a claim — To declare that something is yours, or that you have a right to it.
- dig one's heels in — To refuse stubbornly to change one's mind.
- the scales fall from one's eyes — To suddenly see the truth after being deceived.
- feet of clay — A hidden weakness in someone or something admired.
- raze to the ground — To destroy a building or town completely.
From our proverbs
- Jack-in-office is a great man. — Petty officials wielding minor authority often overestimate their importance and competen…
- Jesting lies bring serious sorrows. — Careless humor that distorts truth erodes trust and eventually causes genuine pain to rel…
- There's no joy without alloy. — Pure pleasure is impossible; every good thing contains some mixture of difficulty or sorr…