piece of the action

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Noun

piece of the action (plural pieces of the action)

1. (idiomatic) A portion of the monetary gains or other benefits produced by some venture or activity; a share of participation in a venture or activity.
   • 1969, Mario Puzo, The Godfather‎^[1]:

     "Sollozzo is coming to us for help," Hagen said. . . . "For that we get a piece of the action."

   • 1997 June 29, David W. Dunlap, “The Sign Makers Turn Up the Wattage”, in New York Times, retrieved 9 December 2012:

     Landlords who were once content to lease rooftops or facades to sign companies now demand a piece of the action, in a joint venture or a limited partnership.

   • 2001 June 11, Tim Padgett, Elaine Shannon, “La Nueva Frontera: The Border Monsters”, in Time:

     There are two ways to get a piece of the action at any of the big drug markets along the border: pay off—or kill off—anyone who stands in your way.

   • 2003 April 7, Sonny Inbaraj, “Iraq: Australian Firms Eye Spoils of War in post-Saddam Era”, in Inter Press Service, retrieved 9 December 2012:

     Australian companies are already manoeuvring for a piece of the action in the reconstruction of Iraq,

Usage notes

• Originally used to refer especially to illegal or unwholesome activities, but now commonly used more broadly.

See also

• piece of the pie
• wet one's beak

References

• “piece of the action”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.