Money

1- she got money to burn.
2- he is on teh breadline.
3- money is a bit light now.
4- they have to tighten their belts.
5- she lives in the lap of luxary.
6- we struggle to make ends meet.
7- she hasn't got a peeny in her name.
8- in for a penny , in for a pound.
9- a peeny for your thoughts!.
10- to live hand to mouth.
11- she's worth a fortune.


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Money Idioms

Choose the idiom and click on it to go directly to the explanation and example.

A
ante up,
at all costs



B
back on your feet,
bet your bottom dollar,
bet on the wrong horse,
born with a silver spoon in your mouth,
bottom dollar, bottom line,
break even, break the bank,
bring home the bacon,
burn a hole in your pocket,
buy off



C
cash-and-carry,
cash in, cash in on,
cash in your chips,
cash on the
barrelhead, caught short,
cheapskate, chicken feed,
chip in, clean up,
cold hard cash,
cook the books, cut-rate



D
deadbeat,
dime a dozen, down and out,
Dutch treat



F
face value,
fast buck,
feel like a million dollars/bucks,
flat broke, foot the bill,
for a song, for love or money (usually negative),
fork over



G
go broke,
gravy train,
grease your palm
H
hand-out,
hand to mouth,
hard up,
have sticky fingers,
highway robbery,
hit the jackpot



I
in the black,
in the hole, in the red



K
keep books,
kickback



L
lay away money,
layaway plan, lay out,
live from hand to mouth,
live high off the hog,
loaded,
lose your shirt



M
make a bundle,
make a killing, make a living,
make ends meet,
make
money hand over fist, money to burn



N
nest egg



O
on a dime,
on a shoestring,
on the house



P
pad the bill,
pass the buck,
pay an arm and a leg for something,
pay dirt, pay off, pay
through the nose,
penny for your thoughts,
penny-wise and pound foolish,
pick up the tab,
piggy bank,
pinch pennies,
pony up,
put in your two cents



Q
quick buck



R
rain check,
rake in the money,
red cent



S
salt away,
scrape together,
set one back,
shell out,
splurge on something,
stone broke,
strapped for cash,
strike it rich



T
take a beating,
tighten your belt,
two bits,
(not worth) two cents,
two cents worth



W
(not) worth a cent,
worth your salt









ante up



MEANING: pay, produce a necessary amount of money



EXAMPLE:



I had to ante up a lot of money to get my car fixed.





at all costs



MEANING: at any expense of time, effort or money



EXAMPLE:



He plans to go to school at all costs.





back on your feet



MEANING: return to good financial health



EXAMPLE:



My sister is back on her feet after losing her job last year.





bet your bottom dollar



MEANING: bet all one has on something



EXAMPLE:



I would bet my bottom dollar that the accounting manager will be late
again today.





bet on the wrong horse



MEANING: base your plans on a wrong guess about the results of
something



EXAMPLE:



He is betting on the wrong horse if he continues to support the other
candidate for mayor.






born with a silver spoon in your mouth



MEANING: born to wealth and comfort, born rich



EXAMPLE:



The student in our history class was born with a silver spoon in his
mouth and has never worked in his life.





bottom dollar



MEANING: your last dollar



EXAMPLE:



He spent his bottom dollar on some new clothes to wear for his job
interview.





bottom line 1



MEANING: line in a financial statement that shows net income or loss



EXAMPLE:



The bottom line in the company's financial statement was much worse
than expected.





bottom line 2



MEANING: final result, main point



EXAMPLE:



The bottom line was that we were unable to attend the conference
because of our busy schedule.





break even



MEANING: have income equal to expenses



EXAMPLE:



Our company was able to break even after only six months of operation.






break the bank



MEANING: win all the money at a casino gambling table



EXAMPLE:



He broke the bank at the casino and walked away with a lot of money.






bring home the bacon



MEANING: earn the family living



EXAMPLE:



I have been working hard all month bringing home the bacon for my
family.





burn a hole in your pocket



MEANING: money that one wishes or intends to spend quickly (often for
something frivolous)



EXAMPLE:



The money had been burning a hole in his pocket when he decided to go
to the casino.





buy off



MEANING: give money to someone to stop them from doing their duty



EXAMPLE:



They tried to buy off the politician but he refused to go along with
their plan.





cash-and-carry



MEANING: selling something for cash only with no delivery



EXAMPLE:



We were able to get a good price on a sofa in a cash-and-carry deal at
the furniture store.





cash in



MEANING: exchange coupons or bonds for their value in money



EXAMPLE:



I cashed in a large number of my savings bonds in order to get some
money to buy a house.





cash in on



MEANING: make money from an opportunity



EXAMPLE:



The former football player cashed in on his popularity to open a very
successful restaurant.





cash in your chips



MEANING: exchange or sell something to get some money



EXAMPLE:



I decided to cash in my chips to get some money to go back to school.






cash on the barrelhead



MEANING: money paid in cash when something is bought



EXAMPLE:



I had to pay cash on the barrelhead for the used car.





caught short



MEANING: not have enough money when you need it



EXAMPLE:



I was caught short and had to borrow some money from my father last
week.





cheapskate



MEANING: a person who will not spend much money, a stingy person



EXAMPLE:



My friend is a cheapskate and won't even go to a movie with me.





chicken feed



MEANING: a small amount of money



EXAMPLE:



His son always wants to borrow money and says that it is only chicken
feed but little by little it adds up to a lot of money.





chip in



MEANING: contribute money or pay jointly



EXAMPLE:



Everyone in our company chipped in some money to buy a wedding present
for our boss.





clean up




MEANING: make a lot of money, make a big profit



EXAMPLE:



I cleaned up at the horse races last year and still have some of the
money left.





cold hard cash



MEANING: cash, coins and bills



EXAMPLE:



I paid for the stereo in cold hard cash.





cook the books



MEANING: illegally change information in accounting books in a company



EXAMPLE:



The accountant was cooking the books for over a year before he was
caught.





cut-rate



MEANING: sell for a price lower than usual



EXAMPLE:



We went to a cut-rate furniture store to buy some new furniture for
our apartment.





deadbeat



MEANING: person who never pays the money he owes



EXAMPLE:



Recently the government has been making an effort to solve the problem
of deadbeat dads who don't support their families.





dime a dozen



MEANING: easy to get and therefore of little value



EXAMPLE:



Used computers are a dime a dozen and have very little value.





down and out



MEANING: have no money



EXAMPLE:



My friend was down and out for several years before he got a job and
started making money.





Dutch treat



MEANING: something where each person pays their own share



EXAMPLE:



We went to the movie as a Dutch treat so it didn't cost me much money.






face value



MEANING: the worth or price printed on a stamp, bond, note or paper
money etc.



EXAMPLE:



The face value of the stamp was very low but in reality it was worth a
lot of money.





fast buck



MEANING: money earned quickly and easily (and sometimes dishonestly)



EXAMPLE:



The company tried to make a fast buck on the property but they
actually lost a lot of money.





feel like a million dollars/bucks




MEANING: feel wonderful



EXAMPLE:



Although I have been sick for a few weeks I feel like a million
dollars today.





flat broke



MEANING: having no money, penniless



EXAMPLE:



I am flat broke and don't even have enough money to pay my rent.





foot the bill



MEANING: pay



EXAMPLE:



My sister is footing the bill for her daughter's education so she is
making sure that she studies hard.





for a song



MEANING: at a low price, cheaply



EXAMPLE:



We bought the car for a song and will try and sell it for a higher
price.





fork over



MEANING: pay, pay out



EXAMPLE:



I forked over a lot of money for the painting that is hanging on my
wall.





for love or money (usually negative)



MEANING: for anything, for any price



EXAMPLE:



I would not want to have to do that man's job for love or money.





go broke



MEANING: lose all your money, have no money



EXAMPLE:



My uncle started a company last year but it quickly went broke.





gravy train



MEANING: getting paid more money than the job is worth



EXAMPLE:



The job was a gravy train and I made a lot of money when I was there.






grease your palm



MEANING: give a tip, pay for a special favor or extra help, bribe



EXAMPLE:



The waiter was greasing his palm at the restaurant until he was
finally fired.





hand-out



MEANING: a gift of money (usually from the government)



EXAMPLE:



After receiving hand-outs from the government for many years they
finally had to make money on their own.





hand to mouth



MEANING: having only enough money for basic living



EXAMPLE:



My friend has been living from hand to mouth since he lost his job.






hard up



MEANING: not have much money



EXAMPLE:



His brother is hard up for money and always wants to borrow some.





have sticky fingers



MEANING: be a thief



EXAMPLE:



The new employee has sticky fingers and many things in the store have
disappeared.





highway robbery



MEANING: charge a high price for something



EXAMPLE:



The amount of money that the company is charging for its services is
highway robbery.





hit the jackpot



MEANING: make a lot of money suddenly



EXAMPLE:



We hit the jackpot at the casino and came home with a lot of money.






in the black



MEANING: profitable, making money



EXAMPLE:



Our company has been in the black since it was first started.





in the hole



MEANING: in debt, owing money



EXAMPLE:



I think that we are going in the hole in our attempts to make our
business prosper.





in the red



MEANING: unprofitable, losing money



EXAMPLE:



The company has been in the red for several months now and will soon
have to go bankrupt.





keep books



MEANING: keep records of money earned and spent



EXAMPLE:



The accountant has been keeping careful books of all the transactions
in the company.





kickback



MEANING: money paid illegally for favorable treatment



EXAMPLE:



The politician received several illegal kickbacks and had to resign
from his job.





lay away money



MEANING: save money



EXAMPLE:



I am trying hard to lay away enough money to buy a house.





layaway plan



MEANING: a plan in which one pays some money as a down-payment and
then pays a little more when one can and the store holds the article
until the full price is paid



EXAMPLE:



We brought our furniture on the layaway plan at the store.





lay out



MEANING: spend, pay



EXAMPLE:



I had to lay out a lot of money to get my car fixed so now I don't
have any money to go out.





live from hand to mouth



MEANING: live on little money



EXAMPLE:



My friend has been living from hand to mouth on his savings from his
last job.





live high off the hog



MEANING: have the best of everything, live in great comfort



EXAMPLE:



My mother and father have been living high off the hog since they won
the lottery.





loaded



MEANING: have lots of money



EXAMPLE:



My uncle is loaded and always has lots of money.





lose your shirt



MEANING: lose all or most of your money



EXAMPLE:



I lost my shirt in a business venture and now I have no money.





make a bundle



MEANING: make a lot of money



EXAMPLE:



I made a bundle on the stock market and have since bought a house.





make a killing



MEANING: make a large amount of money



EXAMPLE:



My sister made a killing when she worked overseas in the oil industry.






make a living



MEANING: earn enough money to live



EXAMPLE:



If you want to make a good living it is necessary to get a good
education.





make ends meet



MEANING: have enough money to pay your bills



EXAMPLE:



I have been having trouble making ends meet because the rent for my
apartment is too high.





make money hand over fist



MEANING: fast and in large amounts



EXAMPLE:



My cousin has been making money hand over fist with her business.





money to burn



MEANING: very much money, more money than is needed



EXAMPLE:



My aunt has money to burn and is always travelling somewhere.





nest egg



MEANING: money someone has saved up



EXAMPLE:



I made a nice nest egg when I was working and I am now able to go to
school.





on a dime



MEANING: in a very small space



EXAMPLE:



I had to turn my car on a dime when I entered the parking lot.





on a shoestring



MEANING: with little money to spend, on a very low budget



EXAMPLE:



He started his business on a shoestring but now it is very successful.






on the house



MEANING: paid for by the owner



EXAMPLE:



We went to the restaurant and all of the refreshments were on the
house.





pad the bill



MEANING: add false expenses to a bill



EXAMPLE:



The plumber who was fixing our plumbing system was padding the bill so
we got another plumber.





pass the buck



MEANING: make another person decide something, put the duty or blame
on someone else



EXAMPLE:



The foreman is always passing the buck and will never take
responsibility for anything that he does.






pay an arm and a leg for something



MEANING: pay a high price for something



EXAMPLE:



I paid an arm and a leg for my car but I am not very happy with it.






pay dirt



MEANING: a valuable discovery, the dirt in which much gold is found



EXAMPLE:



We hit pay dirt when we got the rights to distribute the new product.






pay off 1



MEANING: pay and discharge from a job



EXAMPLE:



The company paid off their employees and shut down for the winter.





Pay-off 2



- bribe



EXAMPLE:



The mayor received a pay-off and was forced to resign from his
position.





pay through the nose



MEANING: pay at a very high price, pay too much



EXAMPLE:



I paid through the nose when I had to buy gasoline in the small town.






penny for your thoughts



MEANING: tell someone what you are thinking about



EXAMPLE:



"I will give you a penny for your thoughts", I said to my friend who
was looking out of the window.





penny-wise and pound foolish



MEANING: wise or careful in small things to the costly neglect of
important things



EXAMPLE:



My friend is penny-wise and pound foolish and economizes on small
things but wastes all of his money on big things.





pick up the tab



MEANING: pay the bill



EXAMPLE:



I picked up the tab for my sister and her three children at the
restaurant.





piggy bank



MEANING: a small bank, sometimes in the shape of a pig for saving
coins



EXAMPLE:



The small boy saved up much money in his piggy bank.





pinch pennies



MEANING: be careful with money, be thrifty



EXAMPLE:



My grandmother always pinches pennies and will never spend her money
foolishly.





pony up



MEANING: pay



EXAMPLE:



I had to pony up a lot of money to pay to get my car repaired.





put in your two cents



MEANING: give your opinion



EXAMPLE:



I stood up in the meeting and put in my two cents before I was asked
to sit down.





quick buck



MEANING: money earned quickly and easily (and sometimes dishonestly)



EXAMPLE:



The company is only interested in making a quick buck and is not at
all interested in quality.





rain check



MEANING: a promise to repeat an invitation at a later date



EXAMPLE:



I decided to take a rain check and go to the restaurant another time.






rake in the money



MEANING: make a lot of money



EXAMPLE:



We have been raking in the money at our restaurant and will soon be
able to go on a long holiday.





red cent



MEANING: the smallest coin, a trivial sum of money



EXAMPLE:



I wouldn't give a red cent for my neighbor's car.





salt away



MEANING: save money



EXAMPLE:



My father's uncle salted away thousands of dollars before he died.





scrape together



MEANING: gather small amounts of money (usually with some difficulty)
for something



EXAMPLE:



We scraped together some money and bought a present for my mother.





set one back



MEANING: cost



EXAMPLE:



My friend asked me how much my new coat had set me back.





shell out



MEANING: pay



EXAMPLE:



My father shelled out a lot of money to get his house painted.






splurge on something



MEANING: spend more money than one might ordinarily spend



EXAMPLE:



We decided to splurge and go to a nice restaurant for dinner.





stone broke



MEANING: having no money, penniless



EXAMPLE:



His brother is stone broke and won't be able to come to the movie with
us.





strapped for cash




MEANING: have no money available



EXAMPLE:



I am strapped for cash at the moment so I won't be able to go with you
on a holiday.





strike it rich



MEANING: become rich or successful suddenly or without expecting to



EXAMPLE:



My grandfather struck it rich searching for gold but when he died he
had no money.





take a beating



MEANING: lose money (usually a lot)



EXAMPLE:



My friend took a beating on the stock market and has now stopped
buying stocks..





tighten one`s belt



MEANING: live on less money than usual



EXAMPLE:



We decided to tighten our belt and save up some money for a holiday.






two bits



MEANING: twenty-five cents, a quarter of a dollar



EXAMPLE:



The newspaper was only two bits a copy.





(not worth) two cents



MEANING: almost nothing, something not important or very small



EXAMPLE:



The car that my friend bought is not worth two cents.





two cents worth



MEANING: something one wants to say, opinion



EXAMPLE:



I asked the president for his two cents worth but he didn't want to
give us his opinion.





(not) worth a cent



MEANING: not worth anything, not of any value



EXAMPLE:



That antique desk is not worth a cent although everyone thinks it is
very valuable.





worth your salt



MEANING: worth what one is paid



EXAMPLE:



Our secretary is worth her salt and is a great asset to our company.