He is waiting for dead men's shoes to get that promotion.
dead men's shoes
idiomA position or property that is only attainable by someone else upon the current holder's death.
The young assistant spent years working in the office, hoping to step into dead men's shoes when his boss retired.
The ambitious heir grew tired of waiting for dead men's shoes and began plotting to accelerate his father's departure from the company.
- 01
beat a dead horse
To persist or continue far beyond any purpose, interest or reason.
- 02
brown bread
[Cockney slang]dead
- 03
come back from the dead
To experience a resurgence after one's productive years are assumed to have ended.
- 04
dead 'n' buried
Contraction of dead and buried.
- 05
dead air
An unintended interruption in a broadcast during which nothing is transmitted: a silent period on radio or a silent period with no picture on television.
- 06
dead and buried
Of an issue, moot, passed, irrelevant, forgotten.
- 07
dead asleep
Sleeping in a deep sleep
- 08
dead cat bounce
A temporary recovery in the price of a financial instrument which has fallen rapidly and is expected to fall further in the long run.