yellow brick road

• yellow-brick road

From the classic film The Wizard of Oz and the book series on which it was based. Originally the literal road to the Emerald City, which was paved with yellow bricks possibly to invoke the notion of gold.

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yellow brick road (plural yellow brick roads)

1. (idiomatic, often humorous) A proverbial path to a Promised Land of one's hopes and dreams.
   • 2007 December 10, Morgan Housel, “The Impending Destruction of the U.S. Economy: Part 1”, in The Motley Fool‎:

     But we're coming up on a bend in the yellow brick road, and going 'round it could cause the party lights to go dark quickly.

   • 2007 December 21, “Hillary's mountain gets higher”, in The Sydney Morning Herald‎:

     But for Clinton the yellow brick road that led inevitably to the Democratic nomination has suddenly become a little bumpy.

   • 2011 August 19, Emma Kennedy, “Relax - a gap year's supposed to be fun”, in The Guardian‎:

     Smash the emergency glass, press the big red button and just STOP. Step off the Yellow Brick Road, get mixed up with some flying monkeys and throw yourself into all manner of trouble. Trust me. IT'S YOUR LAST CHANCE.