friends in high places

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friends in high places pl (plural only)

1. (idiomatic) Friends who have authority or influence and who can ensure that one's interests will be protected or furthered.
   • 1913, E. Phillips Oppenheim, chapter 10, in The Mischief Maker:

     "Herr Freudenberg himself has great friends here, friends in high places. He will see that nothing happens."

   • 1987 Nov. 30, "War Crimes: Long Road To Justice," Time (retrieved 18 May 2015):

     In recent years he was protected by friends in high places.

   • 2006 April 1, Phillip Alder, "On a Day Made for Tricks, Lots of Ways to Get Them All," New York Times (retrieved 18 May 2015):

     In Petrograd they were in great danger but had many friends in high places, and with money for bribes they avoided arrest.

• it's not what you know but who you know
• ride the coattails

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