in one's back pocket
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.13 in modern English
32
Scrabble Score
16
Letters
4
Syllables
11
Unique Chars
Meaning
prep_phrase
Ready if needed, in reserve, prepared, available for use whenever it might be advantageous.
Example Sentences
- "There’s tremendous opportunities at The Bay in order to modify the offering in order to be attractive to a larger segment to the population. […] Having the Lord & Taylor banner in their back pocket, they’ve got an extra option there."
- "Spitzer thinks it's an outrage that the same bankers who brought down the world economy are still firmly in place, bonuses in hand, a government guarantee in their back pocket."
- "I didn’t mention my son’s remark to my parents because it seemed emotionally manipulative, but I have it in my back pocket just in case."
- "[S]he bosses around all the blokes in the European Union; has won three elections; and even has a physics degree in her back pocket."