Dictionary

grist for the mill en · NOUN

Meanings

1. (idiomatic, uncountable) Something that is useful or that creates a favorable opportunity.
   • The Lesbian Primer does not profess to cover every conceivable aspect of lesbianism. But for someone trying to get or expand knowledge of the subject, this book provides much good grist for the mill. 1979 August 4, Lisa Nussbaum, “Lesbianism 101”, in Gay Community News, page 15:
   • They were sitting across from each other at the bar as Lionel described his odyssey across the country in a Trailways bus, gathering material, as he put it. It was all grist for the mill, life real and raw out there west of New Jersey. 2003, Peter Lefcourt, The deal: a novel of Hollywood:
   • In 1951, Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean, two gay double-agents working in British intelligence, fled to the Soviet Union. This was grist for the mill, linking homosexuality with communist "treason." 2005 March 2, Leslie Feinberg, “Even McCarthy was gay baited”, in Workers World:

Forms

Relateds

more sacks to the mill · grist mill · think twice · give someone pause · food for thought · makes you think · gristmill

Synonyms

grist

Translations (8)

sv få vatten på sin kvarn ((idiomatic) Something that is useful or that creates a favorable opportunity) · gl todo o que ven á rede é peixe ((idiomatic) Something that is useful or that creates a favorable opportunity) · ru вы́года ((idiomatic) Something that is useful or that creates a favorable opportunity) · ru при́быль ((idiomatic) Something that is useful or that creates a favorable opportunity) · fr apporter de l’eau au moulin ((idiomatic) Something that is useful or that creates a favorable opportunity) · de Wasser auf die Mühlen ((idiomatic) Something that is useful or that creates a favorable opportunity) · pl woda na młyn ((idiomatic) Something that is useful or that creates a favorable opportunity) · fr donner du grain à moudre ((idiomatic) Something that is useful or that creates a favorable opportunity)