sitting on a gold mine

sit on a gold mine

To possess or have access to something that will yield a very large amount of money, especially when that thing has yet to be profited from fully. If your social networking site is attracting millions of new users every month, then you guys are definitely sitting on a gold mine. With its vast stores of untapped crude oil, the small nation state is sitting on a veritable gold mine, but so far it has refused to allow any companies to drill on its land. Each one of those paintings would sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars. You can't just sit on a gold mine like that and not take advantage of it!

See also: gold, mine, on, sit

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

sitting on a gold mine

Fig. in control of something very valuable; in control of something potentially very valuable. When I found out how much the old book was worth, I realized that I was sitting on a gold mine. Mary's land is valuable. She is sitting on a gold mine.

See also: gold, mine, on, sitting

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.