grist for the mill

Definitions

Something that is useful or that creates a favorable opportunity.

idiomatic, uncountable

Equivalents

Examples

“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.”

“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.”

“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."”

CEFR level