Money – English idioms and sayings

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Question English Answer English
1. a small place to live, stay or work in 2. a cash machine
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hole in the wall
When you need cash you usually can't find the stupid hole in the wall anywhere.
a business or a part of a business that always makes a lot of profit
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cash cow
That new dish is a real cash cow for the restaurant.
a job that is an easy way of earning money
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money for old rope
This work is money for old rope to me.
a lot of money
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pots of money
Some of my friends have pots of money.
a small amount of money that you earn and spend on things for yourself
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pin money
I don't work for a living, I work to have pin money.
activity that allows people to become very rich without having to make any effort
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licence to print money
A job of a top model is like a licence to print money.
as much money to spend as is wanted or needed
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blank cheque
When I go shopping I wish I had a blank cheque.
counterfeit money, or money from dishonest activities
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funny money
If try to pay with funny money you may be thrown to prison.
extremely poor
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dirt poor
Many people in Africa are dirt poor.
extremely rich
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filthy rich
There very few people who are filthy rich.
if something is of poor quality you can't do much to improve it
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You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
I know you've tried to educate him, but you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. He just has rough manners.
if you say the penny drops, you mean that you have finally understood something
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the penny drops
I always thought there was something wrong with her, the penny dropped when I saw her drunk on the street.
money earned with very little work or effort
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easy money
Some people think being a writer is easy money.
money from a special bank account which is used to buy goods and services over the Internet by sending information from your computer
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e-cash
E-cash is very convenient when shopping via internet.
money gives power and influence
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money talks
He was first sentenced to death, but then released. I suppose money talks.
money in the form of coins or notes, paper money
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hard cash
You usually need hard cash to buy a newspaper.
money isn't that easy to come by
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Money doesn't grow on trees.
I can't buy you that shirt, money doesn't grow on trees, you know.
money owed that is not likely to be paid
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bad debt
I don't lend money, I'm afraid of bad debts that will never be paid back.
money spent by people who are homosexual, especially on entertainment
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the pink pound
This city lives mainly on the pink pound.
money that has been gained from the death of another person
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blood money
Blood money is not the money you would like to earn.
money that is available to spend
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ready cash
I have a lot of savings but very little ready cash.
not to be too expensive
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not to break the bank
Oh, come on! Ice-cream won't break the bank.
something or someone you can be sure of
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to bank on something/someone
I know, I can always bank on my family.
something we say which means that stupid people spend money without thinking about it enough
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A fool and his money are soon parted.
Little children don't know how to deal with money, so they spend a lot. But it's very well known: a fool and his money are soon parted.
to spend too much
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to spend money like water
I have to stop spending money like water or I'll find myself robbing Peter to pay Paul.
the opposite view of somethin
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the other side of the coin
The other side of the coin is that I really like the place.
to allow more money to be spent
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to loosen the purse strings
Come in! It's holiday time, we can loosen the purse strings.
to arrive at a place or event where you are not wanted
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to turn up like a bad penny
I thought I was invited to the wedding reception, but I turned up like a bad penny.
to ask someone what they are thinking about
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a penny for your thoughts
You are daydreaming, a penny for your thoughts.
to be very expensive
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to cost a pretty penny
Wow! These flowers must have cost you a pretty penny!
to borrow money from one person to pay back the money you borrowed from someone else
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to rob Peter to pay Paul
If you rob Peter to pay Paul you'll eventually get into trouble.
to control the spending of a family's or an organization's money
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to hold the purse strings
Our mother is the one who holds the purse strings in our family.
to discover something very valuable or very useful
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to hit pay dirt
I was very poor and then I found a wonderful job, I hit pay dirt.
to follow up on words with action
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to put your money where your mouth is
You say we should help the old, you'd better put your money where your mouth is and go visit your mother.
to get into a lot of trouble
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to have the devil to pay
If you break our mother's favourite vase, you'll have the devil to pay.
to go to the toilet
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to spend a penny
Excuse me, I have to spend a penny.
to have a lot of money to spend on things that are not necessary
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money to burn
Well, I only buy things that are necessary, I don't have money to burn.
to have no money
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to be broke
I can't go to the club with you, I'm broke.
to make lot of money very easily, often because someone else has been stupid
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to laugh all the way to the bank
John laughed all the way to the bank, but in fact he stole the idea.
to pay a lot of money for something
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to pay top dollar
You needn't have bought me such an expensive present, you've probably paid top dollar for it.
to pay for yourself rather than allow someone else to pay
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to pay your way
I always pay my way on a first date.
to pay too much money for something
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to pay through the nose
We shouldn't have bought this house, we paid through the nose for it.
to put a lot of money or effort into something
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in for a penny, in for a pound
Don't give up, remember: in for a penny, in for a pound.
to reduce the amount of money that can be spent
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to tighten the purse strings
I lost my job and therefore I have to tighten the purse strings.
to risk everything in order to achieve the result you want
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to go for broke
Taking this job and moving to another town I went for broke.
to spend money, especially in an obvious and careless way, on things that are not necessary
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to throw money around
If you are a student you don't throw money around.
to steal money from the place where you work
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to have your fingers in the till
He was caught having his fingers in the till and was fired.
to suddenly become rich
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to strike it rich
Everybody wants to strike it rich someday.
very poor
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as poor as a church mouse
When we were very young we were as poor as church mice, but we were very happy.
win all the money at a casino gambling table
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to break the bank
Every gambler hopes to break the bank someday.

What is an idiom?

An idiom or idiomatic expression is a word or a group of words that have a different meaning from the literal one. Idioms are very popular and common in all languages. It is important to know them in order not to misunderstand a person that uses them. Also, you have to know that idioms are not the same thing as slang because idiomatic expressions are made of normal words known to many people, not special words that are used only by a group of people. Learn these common idioms about money to use them in your next conversation in English!

Bank sayings

This lesson includes some of the most useful and important bank sayings and money idioms. These bank sayings and money phrases will be very useful in everyday conversations when speaking about money or your job. If you will learn these bank sayings and money idioms, you will now understand the natives and speak like them! Our flashcards will help you learn the pronunciation of these bank sayings, while the pictures will make it easy for you to remember them! You can also download the lesson on bank sayings as an mp3 or pdf file to listen or read the bank sayings wherever and whenever you want! Master these bank sayings and money phrases to proceed to other interesting flashcard lessons on idioms!

Examples of bank sayings

Here are some examples from the bank sayings and money idioms list of this flashcard lesson:
  • 1. cash cow = a business or a part of a business that always makes a lot of profit
  • 2. pin money = a small amount of money that you earn and spend on things for yourself
  • 3. funny money = counterfeit money, or money from dishonest activities
  • 4. You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. = if something is of poor quality you can't do much to improve it
  • 5. blood money = money that has been gained from the death of another person
You will also learn the break the bank meaning and pretty penny meaning! If you want to learn more common idioms - our linguists prepared many lessons for that! Take a look at the Transport idioms, Politics idioms, Work idioms and Clothes idioms lessons! Explore our site for more interesting lessons on different topics!

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