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MONEY |
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| Back-of-the-envelope calculation |
This expression refers to quick approximate
calculation done informally, as on the back of an envelope. "I don't need the exact amount. Just give me a back-of-the-envelope calculation." |
| Bet your bottom dollar | If you bet your bottom dollar on something, you are absolutely
certain of it. "Jack is very punctual. You can bet your bottom dollar he'll be here at 9 o'clock on the dot." |
| Tighten your belt. | If you need to tighten
your belt, you must spend your money carefully. "Another bill? I'll have to tighten my belt this month!" |
| Born with a silver
spoon in one's mouth |
A person who is born with a silver spoon in their mouth is born into a very rich family. "She never has to worry about money; she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth." |
| On the breadline | People who live on the breadline have a very low income or
barely enough money to survive. "Due to the recent crisis, there are more people on the breadline than ever before." |
| Burn your fingers | If you burn your fingers (or get your fingers burnt), you
suffer financially as a result of foolish behaviour. "Jack got his fingers burnt playing on the stock market." |
| A cash cow |
A product or service which is a regular source of income for a company is called a cash cow. "His latest invention turned out to be a real cash cow." |
| Cash in your chips | If you cash in your chips, you sell something, especially
shares, either because you need the money or because you think the value is going to fall. "Andy cashed in his chips as soon as business started to slow down." |
| Chicken feed |
An amount of money considered small or unimportant is
called
chicken feed. "I got a job during the holidays but the pay was chicken feed." |
| Other side of the coin | When you want to mention a different or contradictory aspect of a
situation, you refer to the other side of the coin. "The house is lovely and spacious, but the other side of the coin is that it is far from shops and schools." |
| Cost an arm and a leg. | If something costs an
arm and a leg, it is very expensive! "The house cost us an arm and a leg, but we have no regrets." |
| Go Dutch | To
go Dutch with somebody means to share the cost of something, such as a meal or a concert. "Young people today tend to go Dutch when they go out together." |
| Feather your nest |
To say of someone that they are feathering
their nest is to say that they are taking advantage of their position in order to obtain money so as to have a comfortable life. |
| Feed the kitty |
If you feed the kitty, you contribute to a
collection of money called a "kitty" in order to help a good cause. Come on - every little helps. You can afford to feed the kitty for a good cause! |
| Feel the pinch | When
someone feels the pinch, they begin to suffer from a lack of money. "With the drop in tourism, hotels and restaurants are beginning to feel the pinch." |
| Golden handcuffs | The term golden handcuffs refers to a large sum of money or a
generous financial arrangement granted to an executive as an incentive to stay in their job, or to ensure long-term cooperation after their departure. |
| Golden handshake | A golden handshake is a generous
sum of money given to a person when they leave a company or retire (sometimes given to encourage early retirement). |
| Gravy train | If someone is on the gravy train, they have found an easy way to make money, one that requires little effort and is without risk. "Since the village has become fashionable he charges for every photograph taken of his house - he's on the gravy train!" |
| Hard up |
If you are hard up, you have very little money. "We were so hard up we had to sleep in the car." |
| On the house |
Something which is "on the house" is offered free of charge,
usually in a bar or restaurant. "The new owner offered us a drink on the house." |
| Ill-gotten gains |
Money, profit or benefits that are made in a dishonest or illegal manner are called ill-gotten gains. "He won money by cheating and is now enjoying his ill-gotten gains." |
| Keep your head above water. | To keep one's head
above water means to try to survive by staying out of debt, for example a small business. |
| Keep the wolf from the door |
In order to keep the wolf from the door, you need to have enough money to buy food and other essentials. "My grandparents earned barely enough to keep the wolf from the door." |
| Kickback | This expression refers to money paid illegally for favourable
treatment. "The property developers were accused of giving kickbacks to the local authorities." |
| Laugh all the way to the bank |
A person who makes a lot of money easily, especially through
someone else's stupidity, is said to laugh all the way to the bank. "If we don't succeed in renewing the contract, our competitors will be laughing all the way to the bank" |
| Licence to print money |
This expression refers to an officially authorized activity which
enables people to make a lot of money without much effort. "The contract to supply computers to schools was a licence to print money." |
| Live beyond one's means | If someone lives beyond their means, they spend more money than they earn or can afford. "The cost of living was so much higher in New York that he was soon living beyond his means." |
| Loan shark |
A loan shark is an unauthorised person who lends
money at extremely high interest rates to people who are unable to obtain a loan from the bank. "The young immigrant was beaten because he was late paying back money to a loan shark." |
| Lose your shirt | If you lose your shirt, you lose all your money or possessions,
especially as a result of speculation or gambling. "He lost his shirt when the bank went bankrupt." |
| Make a killing |
If you say that someone has made a killing you mean that they have had great financial success "He made a killing on the stock market." |
| Make ends meet. |
To make ends meet means to have
enough money to live on. "It's hard to make ends meet on such a low salary." |
| Look/feel like a million dollars | If you
look/feel like a million dollars, you look/feel extremely
good. "With a tan and a new hairstyle, she looked like a million dollars." |
| Made of money |
A person who is made of money is very rich and can buy whatever they want. "Hey! I can't afford that much! I'm not made of money!" |
| Money burns a hole in your pocket | To say that money burns a hole in somebody's pocket means that they are eager to spend it quickly or extravagantly. "As soon as she's paid she goes shopping. Money burns a hole in her pocket!" |
| Money laundering |
When people launder money, they manage to conceal the source of illegally-obtained money so that it is believed to be legitimate. "Certain countries have been accused of facilitating money laundering." |
| Money to burn |
People who have money to burn have so much
money that they can spend it on anything they want. |
| Money doesn't grow on trees |
To say that money doesn't grow on trees means that it is not
plentiful or easily obtained. "Be careful how you spend your money David. It doesn't grow on trees you know!" |
| Money for old rope |
This expression refers to money earned from a task that requires very little effort. "Getting paid for watering the garden is money for old rope!" |
| Money spinner |
If an activity is a money spinner, it is a very successful way of
making money. "Washing cars was quite a money spinner when I was a student." |
| Money talks |
Money talks
means that people with a lot of money have power and influence. |
| More money than sense | If you have more money than sense, you
have a lot of money which you waste by spending it in a foolish manner. "He celebrated the birth of the baby by buying a sports car. He's got more money than sense!" |
| Put money where your mouth is |
To put money where your mouth is
means to give financial support to activities or causes that you believe are right. |
| Rake in the money | If you rake in the money, you make money in large quantities. "Bob's business is so successful, he's raking in the money." |
| See the colour of somebody's money |
If you want to see the colour of somebody's money, you want
to make sure that the person in question has enough money to pay you before you accept to do something. "I want to see the colour of his money before shipping the goods." |
| Throw good money after bad |
Someone who spends additional money on something that was already considered a bad investment is said to throw good money after bad. "Buying a second-hand computer and then spending money to have it repaired is throwing good money after bad!" |
| Throw money at something | If you throw money at something, you try to solve a problem by
spending money on it, without using any other methods. "The refugee problem cannot be solved just by throwing money at it." |
| Nest egg | If you have a nest egg, you have a reserve of money which
you put aside for future needs. "Our parents consider the money from the sale of their house as a nest egg for their old age." |
| Be paid peanuts |
If you are paid peanuts, you have a very low salary. "Anne has a very interesting job but she's paid peanuts. Her salary is very low. " |
| Pick up the tab | If you pick up the tab, you pay the bill or pay the
cost of something. "There was a celebration lunch for the group and Bill picked up the tab." |
| Play the market |
If you
play the market,
you buy stocks and shares in the hope of making a profit when you sell them. "It's always tempting to play the market, but it's more risky at the present time." |
| Pretty penny |
If something costs you a pretty penny, it costs you a lot of
money. "That new car must have cost him a pretty penny!" |
| Price oneself out of the market | If you price yourself out of the market, you charge such a high
price for your goods or services that nobody buys them. "He was so eager to make money that he priced himself out of the market." |
| From rags to riches | If you go from rags to riches, you start off being very
poor and become very rich and successful "By renovating old houses in the right places, he went from rags to riches." |
| Rake in the money | If you rake in the money, you make money in large quantities. "Bob's business is so successful, he's raking in the money." |
| Rob Peter to pay Paul | If a person robs Peter to pay Paul, they pay one debt with money
borrowed from somewhere else, thus creating another debt. "David borrowed money from a friend to cover his overdraft; a typical case of robbing Peter to pay Paul!" |
| See the colour of somebody's money | If you want to see the colour of somebody's money, you want to make sure that the person in question has enough money to pay you before you accept to do something. "I want to see the colour of his money before shipping the goods." |
| Set you back |
The sum of money something sets you back is the amount it costs you. "Changing the heating system would set us back about $5 000." |
| On a shoestring |
If you do something on a shoestring, you do it with very little
money. "When I was a student I lived on a shoestring." |
| Slice/share of the cake (or pie) |
When people feel entitled to a share of the benefits or profits, they want a (larger) slice of the cake. "Since profits are higher this year, the workers feel they deserve a bigger slice of the cake." |
| Splash out |
If you splash out on something,
you spend a lot of money on it. "Sarah's parents really splashed out on her wedding." |
| It's a steal! |
If you find something you want to buy for a very low price, much lower than what it is worth, you can say "It's a steal"! "He's selling it for $10? At that price it's a steal!" |
| Sting someone for something |
If you sting someone for an amount of money, you make them pay for something, usually in a deceitful manner. "Not only was the lunch boring but I was stung for 25$." |
| Why buy a cow when you can get milk for free? |
This expression refers to not paying for something that you can obtain for free. (Sometimes used to refer to a decision not to marry when you can have the benefits of marriage without any commitment.) Rent is high so Bobby is still living with his parents. He says: Why buy a cow when you can get milk for free? |
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