Ticket to ride

A ticket to ride means something must happen for something else to happen usually the ride being more important than the ticket.

A phrase first used in the Beatles song 'Ticket to ride' in which according to the book by Steve Turner was coined by John Lennon as a way to describe prostitutes who worked in the streets of Germany, these women acquired a card from medical authorities, which stated they were in good health. In this context the ticket is the medical card and the ride is the experience with the prostitute, within this context the medical card is used as a prerequisite.

In modern times this phrase has been used by Mark Goldbridge to describe how football fans are being exploited by footballers to sell merchandise and so on. Without the fans, no merchandise would be sold. In this context the fans are the ticket and the revenue from merchandise sales are the ride.

Person 1: Could you ask your parents if it's okay to come over tomorrow
Person 2: They gave me the Ticket to ride yesterday so I'll be there

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