security blanket

noun
1.
a blanket or other familiar item carried especially by a young child to provide reassurance and a feeling of psychological security.
2.
someone or something that gives a person a sense of protection or a feeling of security:
His wealthy uncle is his security blanket.
Origin
1965-70
Examples from the web for security blanket
  • Having concluded that there is no afterlife can be as much of a security blanket as wanting to think there is one.
  • And she's not wrong: books have always been my comfort food, my security blanket.
  • It's not so much about the actual odds as about having a security blanket.
  • It is a security blanket and has been reinforced by previous generations deep belief in the system.
  • Someone may be seeking a partner as a security blanket or for monetary reasons rather than for harmonious companionship.
  • And it would provide an additional security blanket for depositors who crave one.
  • There are going to be some that fall through the security blanket.
  • They needed a minimum of a three-year security blanket.
British Dictionary definitions for security blanket

security blanket

noun
1.
a policy of temporary secrecy by police or those in charge of security, in order to protect a person, place, etc, threatened with danger, from further risk
2.
a baby's blanket, soft toy, etc, to which a baby or young child becomes very attached, using it as a comforter
3.
(informal) anything used or thought of as providing reassurance
Slang definitions & phrases for security blanket

security blanket

noun phrase

A thing or person that provides someone with a sense of safety and emotional comfort: Zeigler instead is Mr Nixon's ''security blanket''

[1971+; fr the blanket or token fragment of blanket that some small children carry about as a source of comforting familiarity; Charles M Schulz, creator of the comic strip ''Peanuts,'' popularized and may have coined the term]


Idioms and Phrases with security blanket

security blanket

Something that dispels anxiety, as in I always carry my appointments calendar; it's my security blanket. This colloquial term, dating from about 1960, was at first (and still is) used for the blanket or toy or other object held by a young child to reduce anxiety.