ticket in a metaphorical sense

[Englishlanguage]

Can ticket be used in a metaphorical sense?
Are these sentences correct?

Her husband was her ticket to wealth/power
That song was his ticket to fame

Can ticket in the meaning of tag/label be used in a metaphorical sense to indicate how someone is and the way they behave?

[donnach]

It's fairly common to hear both expressions you mentioned here in the U.S., if that helps. As far as being a tag/label, in the examples you have provided, a ticket symbolizes (to me) something purchased that enables one to go somewhere or do something, like a movie ticket or an airplane ticket, a la the Beatles' song She's Got a Ticket to Ride. A tag or label mean something different to me, they give me information about price or something else regarding that item.

Hope that answers your question,

Donna

[Englishlanguage]

Originally Posted by donnach

It's fairly common to hear both expressions you mentioned here in the U.S., if that helps. As far as being a tag/label, in the examples you have provided, a ticket symbolizes (to me) something purchased that enables one to go somewhere or do something, like a movie ticket or an airplane ticket, a la the Beatles' song She's Got a Ticket to Ride. A tag or label mean something different to me, they give me information about price or something else regarding that item.

Hope that answers your question,

Donna

Thank you for your reply.

The reason for my last question is that I have heard someone (it was a non-native speaker) say something like My books are my ticket, not my politics and this was translated into Italian with an expression which is very similar to the english word label. The problem is that the interpreter spoke over the interviewee and this made it pretty difficult to understand what the interviewee was saying, so I may be wrong.

[amigos4]

Originally Posted by Englishlanguage

Thank you for your reply.

The reason for my last question is that I have heard someone (it was a non-native speaker) say something like My books are my ticket, not my politics and this was translated into Italian with an expression which is very similar to the english word label. The problem is that the interpreter spoke over the interviewee and this made it pretty difficult to understand what the interviewee was saying, so I may be wrong.

Hi, English!

The correct metaphor is 'ticket'. A 'tag/label' means something completely different and would not provide the same metaphorical meaning. Consider the Italian version to be a classic case of 'lost in translation'!

Cheers,
Amigos4

[Englishlanguage]

Originally Posted by amigos4

Hi, English!

The correct metaphor is 'ticket'. A 'tag/label' means something completely different and would not provide the same metaphorical meaning. Consider the Italian version to be a classic case of 'lost in translation'!

Cheers,
Amigos4

Ok.
Thanks...

[riverkid]

Originally Posted by Englishlanguage

Thank you for your reply.

The reason for my last question is that I have heard someone (it was a non-native speaker) say something like My books are my ticket, not my politics and this was translated into Italian with an expression which is very similar to the english word label. The problem is that the interpreter spoke over the interviewee and this made it pretty difficult to understand what the interviewee was saying, so I may be wrong.

Could this not have the meaning,

My books are what label me [meaning, "describe me as to what I believe or what I am"], my politics do not.

[Englishlanguage]

Originally Posted by riverkid

Could this not have the meaning,

My books are what label me [meaning, "describe me as to what I believe or what I am"], my politics do not.

This is exactly what I meant.
If this was the actual meaning wouldn't ticket in this context mean label in a metaphorical sense as I said before?

[apex2000]

Originally Posted by Englishlanguage

This is exactly what I meant.
If this was the actual meaning wouldn't ticket in this context mean label in a metaphorical sense as I said before?

Yes, you are on safe ground. Ticket is used in a number of ways, the most obvious being a train/bus ticket or a ticket to get into a performance of some sort.
In your two sentences 'ticket' could be replaced by 'way' and the meaning would be clearer. I would not suggest tag/label to describe it as the meaning is more a manner of speech, idiomatic.

[riverkid]

Originally Posted by Englishlanguage

The reason for my last question is that I have heard someone (it was a non-native speaker) say something like My books are my ticket, not my politics and this was translated into Italian with an expression which is very similar to the english word label. The problem is that the interpreter spoke over the interviewee and this made it pretty difficult to understand what the interviewee was saying, so I may be wrong.

Originally Posted by Englishlanguage

This is exactly what I meant.
If this was the actual meaning wouldn't ticket in this context mean label in a metaphorical sense as I said before?

I'd say, EL, that 'ticket' and 'label' are not synonymous for this meaning,

"My books are what label me [meaning, "describe me as to what I believe or what I am"], my politics do not."

My books are what ticket me, my politics do not.

In fact, I'm not even sure what the meaning of the sentence in blue is. 'ticket' in a metaphorical sense carries a similar meaning to its literal sense. I can't think of a possible meaning for it, though that doesn't mean that there isn't one. Perhaps someone can provide a context where it could work.

[Englishlanguage]

As I stated before I'm not even sure the sentence I heard is exactly that because the interpreter was speaking over the interviewee and it was quite difficult to understand what the interviewee was saying. I may have misheard him. And consider that the interviewee was not a native speaker, so he may have just said something which doesn't make much sense in English.
Anyway, thanks everybody for your help.