Idiom
velvet handcuffs
Meaning
Golden handcuffs: any arrangement designed to provide favorable benefits or pay so as to discourage a participant from choosing to leave it.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“The high salary acts like velvet handcuffs for many employees.”
“She wants to quit her job to travel, but the generous bonus plan feels like velvet handcuffs.”
“Although he felt uninspired by his corporate role, the exceptional benefits package served as velvet handcuffs, effectively binding him to a career he no longer found meaningful.”
Examples
simple
“The high salary acts like velvet handcuffs for many employees.”
contextual
“She wants to quit her job to travel, but the generous bonus plan feels like velvet handcuffs.”
complex
“Although he felt uninspired by his corporate role, the exceptional benefits package served as velvet handcuffs, effectively binding him to a career he no longer found meaningful.”
Key words
Related idioms
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