| Idiom/Saying | Explanation |
|---|---|
A hole in the wall For example: |
1) A small place to live, stay or work in. 2) A cash machine. |
Break the bank. For example: He broke the bank at the casino and walked away with a lot of money. |
Win all the money at a casino gambling table. |
| To laugh all the way to the bank. For example:- If we don't take this opportunity, you can be sure our competitors will and they'll be laughing all the way to the bank. |
To make lot of money very easily, often because someone else has been stupid.
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| To not break the bank. For example: Going out for a drink in the pub won't break the bank. |
Not be too expensive |
| To bank on something/someone For example: "You can always bank on friends to help you." |
Something or someone you can be sure of. |
Go for broke. For example: "She really wanted to pass her English exam, so she went for broke and revised every day." |
To risk everything in order to achieve the result you want. |
To be broke For example: I can't go out tonight, I'm broke. |
To have no money. |
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A cash cow The British newspapers are the group's biggest cash cow, earning nearly 40% of group profits. |
A business or a part of a business that always makes a lot of profit. |
| Hard cash For example: They don't accept credit cards, we will need hard cash. |
Money in the form of coins or notes paper money |
| Cash in your chips For example: He cashed his chips in shortly after his ninetieth birthday. |
To die. |
| Ready cash For example: We have a lot of investments but we need ready cash to pay the bills. |
Money that is available to spend. |
To be strapped [for cash] For example: Could you lend me a fiver? I seem to be a bit strapped. |
To be short of money. |
| A blank cheque For example: The project manager seems to think he has a blank cheque. |
As much money to spend as is wanted or needed. |
| The other side of the coin For example: Running a web site is fun, but the other side of the coin is that it costs a lot of money. |
The opposite view of something. |
| A bad debt For example: The bank expects to lose millions of last year's profits as a result of bad debts. |
Money owed that is not likely to be paid. |
dough For example:- I need to go to the cash point, I've run out of dough. |
Slang for money. |
| e-cash For example: It is easier to pay on the net with e-cash. |
Money from a special bank account which is used to buy goods and services over the Internet by sending information from your computer |
| A fool and his money are soon parted. For example: Andrew is always buying the latest gizmos, a fool and his money are soon parted. |
Something we say which means that stupid people spend money without thinking about it enough. |
Blood money For example: The assassin was paid his blood money. |
Money that has been gained from the death of another person. |
| Easy money For example: A lot of people think running a web site is easy money. |
Money earnt with very little work or effort. |
| Funny money For example: |
Counterfeit money, or money from dishonest activities. |
| A licence to print money For example: Some people think the TV licence fee is just a licence to print money. |
Activity that allows people to become very rich without having to make any effort. |
| Money doesn't grow on trees. For example: We can't afford to buy a house, money doesn't grow on trees. |
Money isn't that easy to come by. |
| Money for old rope For example: A lot of people think being a professional footballer is money for for old rope. |
A job that is an easy way of earning money. |
| Money talks For example: He seems to get away with murder I guess money talks. |
People who are rich have a lot of power and influence. |
| Money to burn For example: They buy a new car every year. They must have money to burn. |
To have a lot of money to spend on things that are not necessary |
| Put your money where your mouth is For example: If people are really interested in helping the homeless they should put their money where their mouth is |
To follow up on words with action. |
Monopoly money For example: Whether he sells the house or not, it's all monopoly money to him. |
Monopoly is the trademark for a game in which you buy property with pretend money, so monopoly money has little or no value. |
More money than sense. For example:- Alex Hope spent £125,000 on a 30-litre Midas bottle of champagne. He has got more money than sense. |
When someone seems to spend what money they have foolishly. |
| Pin money For example: She teaches English for pin money for extra treats for herself and the family. |
A small amount of money that you earn and spend on things for yourself. |
| Pots of money For example: Bill Gates has pots of money. |
A lot of money. |
| Throw money around For example: They don't work but they have plenty of money to throw around. |
To spend money, especially in an obvious and careless way, on things that are not necessary. |
| Hit pay dirt For example: If a salesperson does not quickly hit pay dirt with a customer they will usually move straight on to someone else. |
To discover something very valuable or very useful. |
| Pay through the nose For example: I paid through the nose to get the bathroom done. |
To pay too much money for something. |
| Pay top dollar For example: If you want the best, you have to pay to dollar. |
To pay a lot of money for something |
| Pay your way For example: I teach English so that I can pay my way.
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To pay for yourself rather than allowing someone else to pay |
| The devil to pay For example: If the company catches you making personal calls there'll be the devil to pay! |
To get into a lot of trouble. |
A penny for your thoughts For example: 'You're very quiet. A penny for your thoughts.' |
To ask someone what they are thinking about. |
| A pretty penny For example: That car must have cost you a pretty penny. |
To be very expensive |
| The penny drops For example: She looked confused for a while, but then the penny dropped. |
To finally understand something. |
| Turn up like a bad penny For example: Whenever he wants money he turns up like a bad penny. |
To arrive at a place or event where you are not wanted. |
A penny pincher / To penny pinch For example: He left the pub before it was his round. He is such a penny pincher. |
A miser /To be a miser. |
| In for a penny, in for a pound For example: He spends hours on his English every day. In for a penny, in for a pound. |
To put a lot of money or effort into something. |
| Dirt poor
|
Extremely poor |
| As poor as church mice For example: When we first got married, we were as poor as church mice. |
Very poor |
| The pink pound For example: Brighton is a lively, prosperous city, courtesy of the pink pound. |
Money spent by people who are homosexual, especially on entertainment. |
| To hold the purse strings For example: The Financial Director holds the purse strings here. |
To control the spending of a family's or an organization's money |
| To loosen the purse strings For example: We shouldn't expect the Chancellor to loosen the purse strings too much in this year's Budget. |
To allow more money to be spent. |
| To tighten the purse strings For example: If we want to go on holiday this year we need to tighten the purse strings a bit. |
To reduce the amount of money that can be spent |
| You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear For example: I new it wouldn't last, you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. |
If something is poor quality you can't do much to improve it. |
| Filthy rich For example: Bill Gates is filthy rich. |
Extremely rich |
| Rob Peter to pay Paul For example: If you keep robbing Peter to pay Paul, you'll never be out of debt. |
To borrow money from one person to pay back money you borrowed from someone else. |
| Strike it rich For example: He struck it rich in the computer business. |
To suddenly become rich |
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Spend money like water For example: If you spend money like water, you'll always be broke. |
To spend too much. |
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Spend a penny For example: Excuse me, I must go and spend a penny. |
To go to the toilet. |
| Have your fingers in the till For example: She had her fingers in the till, that's why she lost her job. |
To steal money from the place where you work. |