dead men's shoes
A position or entitlement that will only be achieved by someone's death. Derived from the proverb, "It's ill waiting for dead men's shoes." Dead men's shoes are about the only high-paying positions one can hope for in these tough economic times.
dead men's shoes
BRITISHDead men's shoes is a situation in which people cannot make progress in their careers until someone senior to them retires or dies. We are sick of waiting to step into dead men's shoes. In those days, jobs were difficult to obtain. It was more or less dead men's shoes.
dead men's shoes
property or a position coveted by a prospective successor but available only on a person's death.