a passel of, credit facility, status symbol

Browsing Masuda's collection sends the viewer through a portal to a different time, a period when the "three sacred treasures" -- the television, refrigerator and washing machine -- were status symbols to which all self-respecting housewives in booming Japan would aspire.

G.M. has also locked down a $5 billion credit facility from a passel of banks that will help provide financial strength for the company, Reuters reported.
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pas·sel (păs'əl)

n. Informal
A large quantity or group: "The President faces a passel of domestic issues" (Christian Science Monitor).

As dozens of U.S. billionaires pledge their fortunes to charity and the country struggles to shake off recession, philanthropy is a growing status symbol of the rich, experts say.
Go to Article from Reuters via The New York Times»

státus sỳmbol[státus sỳmbol]

 

高い地位［身分］の象徴.