when one person attains power, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven; nepotism; riding on someone's coattails
Meanings
1 sense · 4 examplesidiom
when one person gains power or success, all his associates benefit undeservedly
formalOften used in a critical or ironic sense to describe nepotism, cronyism, or the practice of friends and relatives benefiting from someone's success. The full idiom is 一人得道，鸡犬升天 (yī rén dé dào, jī quǎn shēng tiān).
Since he became the bureau director, all his relatives and friends got jobs arranged for them — it's truly a case of the chickens and dogs ascending to heaven.
This company is full of nepotism; as soon as the boss took office, his entire family rode his coattails to success.
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In ancient official circles, the phenomenon of 'when one man achieves the Dao, even his chickens and dogs ascend to heaven' was very common.
Don't count on riding someone's coattails to success; in the end, you still have to rely on your own abilities.