Meaning & use
pot of gold rainbow
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Meanings
phrasefixed phrasefigurative
A legendary treasure said to lie where a rainbow touches the ground, and so a prize that can never really be found.
Grammar: Used as a noun phrase; the full traditional form is 'a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow'.
Patterns
- a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow
- chase a pot of gold rainbow
In the old story, a mischievous fairy hides a pot of gold rainbow at the edge of the field.
He keeps buying lottery tickets as if there were a pot of gold rainbow waiting for him.
The children ran toward the pot of gold rainbow, but of course they never reached it.
phrasefixed phrasefigurative
Any hoped-for reward or success that is probably imaginary or impossible to obtain.
Grammar: Often used with verbs like 'chase' or 'promise' to suggest that the goal is unrealistic.
Patterns
- chase a pot of gold rainbow
- promise someone a pot of gold rainbow
The startup promised investors a pot of gold rainbow, but the product never worked.
She warned her students not to chase a pot of gold rainbow and neglect steady work.
For many migrants, the city looked like a pot of gold rainbow, yet jobs were scarce.
Common combinations
- chase a pot of gold rainbow
- He spent years chasing a pot of gold rainbow instead of finishing his degree.
- at the end of the rainbow
- There is no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, however far you walk.
- promise a pot of gold rainbow
- Politicians often promise a pot of gold rainbow before an election.
- a pot of gold
- The treasure map showed a pot of gold buried under the oak tree.
Synonyms and how they differ
- pipe dream
- This means a hope that will never come true, and it fits better when you want to stress that the plan is foolish rather than magical.
- fool's gold
- This describes something that looks valuable but is not, so use it for false promises rather than for an unreachable prize.
- El Dorado
- This is a legendary city of gold, a proper noun used for a place people search for in vain, not for a rainbow legend.
Word family
Commonly confused: pot of gold rainbow or rainbow? pot of gold rainbow or gold mine?
pot of gold rainbow vs rainbow
'Rainbow' alone is just the colored arch in the sky; the full phrase adds the idea of hidden treasure or a false hope.
pot of gold rainbow vs gold mine
A 'gold mine' is a real or figurative source of wealth, whereas a pot of gold rainbow is usually imaginary.
Practice
Which sentence uses the expression in its usual figurative sense?
Choose one answer.
'Chasing a pot of gold rainbow' means pursuing an unrealistic reward, which is the figurative use. The other options treat it as a physical object or a weather event, which the phrase does not mean.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pot of gold rainbow”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.