Idioms_MONEY.doc

money

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:

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