Coattail

Origin

coat + tail

Full definition of coattail

Noun

1. The flap at the back of a coat that hangs down, sometimes below the waist.
2. (usually in the plural, figurative) Success of a figure, organization or movement that transfers to those who associate with it.
• 2012, The Economist, Oct 6th 2012; The Senate: Not so flippableMr Obama’s coat-tails may help lift Wall-Street-basher Elizabeth Warren past pickup-driving Everyman and one-time nude pin-up Scott Brown in Massachusetts ...

Derived terms

• on the coattails of
• ride the coattails

Anagrams

• tailcoat