That association is likely why the phrase golden ticket, in its literal sense referring to an actual gold-colored slip redeemed for admittance, has a history of usage (albeit a thin one) that predates Dahl's novel:įor one dollar, a " Golden Ticket" can be obtained which will entitle the holder to attend every performance and rehearsal throughout the season.Īs children of Generation X who grew up with the novel (or with the Gene Wilder film) became adults, golden ticket began to see references in print and in quotations. And a gold mine can figuratively refer to a rich source of something desired, as in "a gold mine of information," a meaning that dates to the 17th century. An employee might be offered golden handcuffs as an inducement to stay with a company, or alternately, given the golden handshake (or, more dramatically, a golden parachute in the form of a generous severance package). Gold, of course, is a valuable and glimmering metal, and the association of gold with luck and opportunity has been around since before the Gold Rush. The dictionary defines ticket in its figurative sense as "a means of access or passage," as in "education is the ticket to a good job," and many uses of golden ticket simply carry that notion a bit further. (They may also know it from the 2005 version with Johnny Depp.) Those who haven't read the novel are still just as likely to know the story through its 1971 film adaptation starring Gene Wilder, which portrays the Wonka factory as a brightly colored wonderland of magic, whimsy, and dangerous temptation. Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, 1964 She was sitting between her beaming father and mother in the living room of their house, waving the Golden Ticket above her head, and grinning from ear to ear. The prize for those who find the tickets includes a lifetime's supply of chocolate and a tour of Wonka's factory, the contents of which have heretofore been an object of mystery to the public. A word for the music-makers, the dreamers of dreams.įor the woefully uninitiated: the phrase alludes to the plot of Roald Dahl's 1964 novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, in which Willy Wonka, the founder of a world-renowned chocolate factory, offers a contest to children in which five golden tickets are distributed inside packages of Wonka chocolate bars.
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