feather bed

(noun) a mattress stuffed with feathers. Synonyms: featherbed.

(verb) treat with excessive indulgence. Synonyms: pamper, featherbed, cosset, cocker, baby, coddle, mollycoddle, spoil, indulge. Examples: "Grandparents often pamper the children." "Let's not mollycoddle our students!."

(verb) hire more workers than are necessary. Synonyms: featherbed.