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Coattail

noun, verb

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The flap at the back of a coat that hangs down, sometimes below the waist.

    "At twilight in the summer[…]the mice come out. They[…]eat the luncheon crumbs. Mr. Checkly, for instance, always brought his dinner in a paper parcel in his coat-tail pocket, and ate it when so disposed, sprinkling crumbs lavishly[…]on the floor."

  2. 2
    the loose back flap of a coat that hangs below the waist wordnet
  3. 3
    Success of a figure, organization or movement that transfers to those who associate with it. figuratively, plural-normally

    "to ride the coattails"

Verb
  1. 1
    To ride the coattails of. ambitransitive

    "It wasn't like I just coattailed the auditor's work. Based on the names on the time cards, I was able to conduct interviews with the employees whose labor was mischarged, and they told me which contracts they had actually worked on."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From coat + tail.

Etymology 2

From coat + tail.

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