velvet handcuffs

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

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Noun

velvet handcuffs pl (plural only)

1. (idiomatic) Golden handcuffs: any arrangement designed to provide favorable benefits or pay so as to discourage a participant from choosing to leave it.

   Synonym: golden handcuffs

   • 2000, Jack A. Green, Contact: a Guide to Developing Effective Call Centre Skills:

     If turnover is low, is this for good reasons or because staff have no other opportunities or are trapped by "velvet handcuffs" — are dissatisfied and would like to leave, but the money is too good.

   • 2004 March 13, Billboard, volume 116, number 11, page 11:

     Inevitably, it turns out, singing other people's songs or having to collaborate with one's bandmates can sometimes feel like a prison sentence, albeit one with velvet handcuffs and minimum security.

   • 2011, Christopher Shulgan, The Soviet Ambassador: The Making of the Radical Behind Perestroika:

     The transfer sounded prestigious, but it was definitely a demotion. This was the style of the Brezhnev Politburo: velvet handcuffs, but handcuffs nevertheless.

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see velvet,‎ handcuffs.