Meaning
To exploit a situation, advantage, or minor misfortune as fully as possible, squeezing out every last drop of benefit, sympathy, or money. It usually carries a disapproving tone, suggesting someone is exaggerating or taking unfair advantage rather than simply making good use of things. Informal and usually disapproving, implying greed, exaggeration, or unearned advantage; especially common around injuries, grievances, and fleeting fame. Regional use: General English.
Origin
The verb goes back to Old English melcan, to draw milk from an animal, and the figurative step from drawing milk to drawing profit was taken early: Etymonline dates the extended sense, to exploit for profit, to the 1520s. A specialised theatrical sense followed: American stage jargon 'to milk', meaning to coax extra applause or laughs from an audience by dragging out a bow or gag, is attested by 1938. The modern set phrase 'milk it' folds that history together - to work a situation, injury, or moment of fame for everything it will yield - matching McGraw-Hill's 'milk something for something', to try to get a lot of benefit from it, and Cambridge's current definition of extracting maximum advantage. The image throughout is the farmer's hand: patient pressure applied until every last drop is extracted.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- milk it for all it's worth
- milk someone dry
- milk something for something
Usage Examples
- He bruised one elbow in the fall and has been milking it for sympathy for three whole weeks.
- The record label intends to milk the reunion tour for every last dollar it can possibly raise.
- She filmed one viral video in 2019 and has been milking it for brand deals ever since.