come in a golden platter=?

[rainbow402]

Dear Teacher,

come in a golden platter=? I understand each English word but not the phrase.
:-?

Following the visits of Lien Chan and James Soong to China, both president-wannabes in 2000 and 2004, Ma Yin-jiu’s come-lately visit raised the hope of Beijing that it wrapped up the loose ends of the ‘unfinished’ Civil War of 1945, and Taiwan will come in a golden platter.

 

[EnglishRyan]

Hey rainbow

Never heard it before either, but I would image it would have something to do with being presented in a fancy way.

Where did you see this?

Ryan

EnglishRyan - Free audio and video ESL lessons
EnglishRyan Free Audio and Video ESL Lessons

 

[light]

as far as I know:
"come in golden plate" means something is given/offered to you and you do nothing to get it. It was easy.

e.g. Nothing comes in a golden plate, you have to work hard and make sacrifices.

in your example, china will have taiwan without doing much. (hope I misunderstood!)

 

[rainbow402]

EnglishRyan, thanks for your response. Sorry, I wouldn't like to tell you where I read it because it seems to me the author is an out-and-out sinophobia in almost all his articles there. I wouldn't like a foreigner, such as you, would be possibly misguided by his ungrounded rhetoric. I read his articles sometimes because his writing skill is not too bad and I'd like to learn different views sometimes out of curiosity even if it is unacceptable or unauthentic.

Light, thank you for your answer too.

 

[Neillythere]

I'm not a teacher, but I have regularly come across and used the term "handing someone something on a platter". The addition of the word "golden" makes it something they really wanted i.e. a real prize. This would be the case if China were "handed Taiwan on a golden platter" without any real effort on their part. see the reference below:

platter - definition of platter by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia.
Idiom:
on a platter Without exertion; effortlessly: always got what they wanted on a platter.

Hope this helps.

Regards

 

[rainbow402]

Neillythere, thank you for your answer. I thought about the idiom of " on the platter" previously but not sure.

 

[Ouisch]

In AmE, we refer to it as a "silver platter." It means receiving something valuable without earning it, or having everything come very easily to you.

"No wonder John doesn't know how to look for a job; up to now everything was handed to him on a silver platter."

 

[Neillythere]

Interestingly enough, the Compact Oxford Dictionary surprisingly came up with "silver"

AskOxford: platter
[SIZE=-1]— PHRASES[/SIZE] be handed something on a (silver) platter [SIZE=-1]informal[/SIZE] acquire something with little or no effort.

It appears that I will have to "dig for gold" elsewhere!

Regards

PS Just seen a note on Websters Dictionary: Platter
Screenplays:
Perhaps a silver platter with rabbits on it. (Filthy Rich; writing credit: Barry E. Blitzer; Linda Bloodworth-Thomason)