gift that keeps on giving

English

Pronunciation

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Noun

gift that keeps on giving (plural gifts that keep on giving)

1. (idiomatic) Something with continuous (typically positive) consequences.
2. (slang) A sexually transmitted disease.
   • 2006, Jeannie Cheatham, Meet Me with Your Black Drawers On: My Life in Music, page 130:

     She fell for his soulful tenor playing, so she gave him the gift that keeps on giving — the clap.

   • 2007, Doug Giles, A Time to Clash: Papers from a Provocative Pastor, page 202:

     Plus, there's about a 25% chance that you now have the gift that keeps on giving, an STD.

   • 2007, R.H.B. Jackson, Dad and Me, page 462:

     Maybe I was lucky that we did not get together, who knows, maybe she would have given me the gift that keeps on giving.

   • 2010, Michael Salvatore, Between Boyfriends, page 184:

     “You gave me the gift that keeps on giving!” […] “The old man gave Sebastian herpes!”

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