English Reference

Idiom

golden handcuffs

Meaning

Any arrangement or agreement designed to provide extremely favorable benefits or pay, so as to discourage a participant from choosing to leave it, especially to retain a choice employee in a role that is unpleasant to them.

Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Examples

“He stays in his boring job because of the golden handcuffs.”

“The company offered a massive bonus to keep her, but she felt trapped by these golden handcuffs.”

“Despite his desire to pursue a more creative career, the executive remained tethered to the firm by the weight of his golden handcuffs.”

Examples

simple

“He stays in his boring job because of the golden handcuffs.”

contextual

“The company offered a massive bonus to keep her, but she felt trapped by these golden handcuffs.”

complex

“Despite his desire to pursue a more creative career, the executive remained tethered to the firm by the weight of his golden handcuffs.”

Key words

Related idioms

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