How to use "a midas touch"

What Does "a midas touch" Mean?

• The idiomatic meaning of "a Midas touch" refers to an exceptional ability to make money or be successful in any venture. It signifies a knack for turning anything one attempts into a success. It does not necessarily imply greed, but rather consistent achievement.
• The expression originates from the Greek myth of King Midas, who was granted the ability to turn everything he touched into gold. However, this gift became a curse when he realized he couldn't eat or drink, as his food and water also turned to gold.
• Register: Neutral

How to Use It

• Grammatical flexibility: The phrase can be modified with adjectives (e.g., "a golden Midas touch"), used with possessive pronouns (e.g., "his Midas touch"), and can appear in various sentence structures. It can also be negated (e.g., "doesn't have a Midas touch").
• What sounds unnatural: Overly literal use of the phrase outside of its established idiomatic meaning would sound strange. For instance, describing a goldsmith as having a Midas touch is technically correct but misses the idiomatic nuance. It's also important to remember the inherent success implied; using it to describe someone who causes unintentional problems resembling Midas's curse is inaccurate.

Real-World Examples

These examples are sourced from a midas touch on Ludwig.guru.

"Draw Something's decline has shown that even Zynga doesn't have a midas touch on mobile, although one bright spot in Q4 was the launch of card-battling mobile game Ayakashi, which Ko said has already become "our highest-monetising mobile game on a per-user basis"." — The Guardian - Tech

"Not for the first time this season Eddie Howe demonstrated a Midas touch in an increasingly frenetic promotion race." — The Guardian - Sport

"Hsieh, 39, a Silicon Valley wunderkind with a Midas touch, has become an improbable aristocrat of Sin City." — The Guardian

"Goldman Sachs has long been known as a Wall Street firm with a Midas touch, wringing out significant trading profits in good times and bad." — The New York Times

"With his immense insight and great technical mastery, he seems to bring a "Midas touch" to everything he works on." — The Guardian

Examples sourced from https://ludwig.guru/s/a+midas+touch

Similar Phrases and Alternatives

Phrase	Context
golden touch	A direct synonym for "Midas touch", implying success.
knack for success	More literal and less figurative, suitable for formal contexts.
gifted	Highlights innate talent contributing to success.
has a talent for	Emphasizes a natural aptitude leading to favorable outcomes.
sure-fire hit	Describes something guaranteed to be successful.
always succeeds	A straightforward, descriptive alternative.
has the magic touch	Similar to "Midas touch," but with a slightly more whimsical connotation.

Common Mistakes

• Using the phrase to describe someone who is merely lucky, rather than someone who consistently achieves success through skill and talent.
• Confusing the phrase with simply being wealthy, as "a Midas touch" implies an ability to generate wealth and success, not just possess it.
• A common mistake is misunderstanding the origin of the idiom (King Midas in Greek mythology) and using it to describe someone who is greedy or only interested in money, which is not its primary meaning.

Quick-Reference Summary

Expression	Idiomatic Meaning	Register	Avoid In
a Midas touch	An exceptional ability to make money or be successful in any venture	Neutral	Situations requiring literal descriptions; contexts focusing on greed rather than success.

FAQs

Is "a midas touch" ever used literally, or is it always figurative?

"A Midas touch" is almost exclusively used figuratively. While you could theoretically use it literally to describe someone who turns things into gold (if such a thing were possible), the phrase's established meaning refers to consistent success, not literal transmutation.

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How does "a midas touch" differ from "a magic touch"?

Both phrases imply a special ability to achieve positive results, but "a Midas touch" specifically suggests financial or business success, while "a magic touch" is broader and can apply to any area, such as personal relationships or artistic endeavors. "A Midas touch" has a stronger connotation of turning things into gold, metaphorically speaking.

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If "a midas touch" doesn't mean someone is greedy, what does it really mean, and what's the connection to the myth of King Midas?

"A Midas touch" signifies an exceptional and consistent ability to achieve success in ventures, particularly in business or finance. While the myth of King Midas involves gold, the idiom focuses on the success aspect of the story – the king's ability to turn anything he touched into something valuable – rather than his potential greed for gold. The idiom emphasizes the positive outcome, not the character flaw.