Hi Everyone I am Niharika, well it's time to learn new things. In today's lesson we
are gonna look at phrases to talk about expensive things. Yesterday I went shopping and I loved
this beautiful dress, but the moment I looked at the price tag I realized it's super expensive.
So that brings me here to do this lesson for you. In English we all talk about money, Right?
We talk about fancy cars, expensive vacations, diamonds..All these things are so expensive.
In English we have many phrases you can use when you talk about expensive stuff. So let's
get started.
The very first one that I have for you is that's a bit steep. Now when do you use this
expression? When something is not very expensive but it's just little expensive. So you go
to a store and you love these pair of shoes, but you think that these pair of shoes are
little expensive. SO rather than saying "Ahh they are a little expensive" use this expression
these are a little steep or that's a little steep. You can use this expression when something
is little high priced. Al right!
The second phrase that I have for you is that's a bit pricey. This expression is very similar
to the one above. SO rather than using the word steep, you can also use the word pricey.
And again it is used for the stuff which is not very expensive but a little high priced.
al right, so rather than saying it's a little expensive, it;s not very expensive, use the
expression It's a bit steep or it's a bit pricey.
Lets have a look at the third expression here. To cost an arm and leg. Now when do you use
this? When something is so expensive. When you have to pay too much to buy something.
SO it is a figurative phrase. Like for example - My Mercedes car has cost me an arm and leg.
SO imagine you have to buy something that you got to sell the most important parts of
your body, that's arms and legs. Will you do that? SO when something is super expensive,
rather than saying or using the word expensive use this expression - this has cost me an
arm and leg.Like this new diamond ring has cost me an arm and leg, it means I have paid
too much of money for this.
Now let's have a look at another expression here - To pay through the nose. Now here it
doesn't really mean that you remove cash out of your nose - no you don't do that, but this
expression is used when you pay too much of money for something. In fact this expression
comes from the Irish .Well, apparently the people in Ireland, if they didn't pay tax
- the people or the tax offenders would have their nose slit, that's weird right! SO I
am guessing that this expression comes from the Irish - so pay through the nose actually
means to pay a lot of money. Like these days - cars, Uff to buy cars you literally have
to pay through the nose. Because cars are so expensive these days,Or for example the
house. To buy a house or to buy a property in my city we literally have to pay through
the nose , it means we have to put in a lot of money.
Let's have a look at the next one here - Exorbitant - well, that's how you pronounce it Exorbitant
and this word is used for something which is unreasonably priced. Like again, the houses,
if you have to buy a house in my city here , the property is priced exorbitantly. It
means that it's just over priced , unreasonably priced. Well expensive cars. Yes I do feel
that there are certain cars in the market which are over priced. SO rather than saying
they are expensive I would use the word they are exorbitant. Right! Or probably you are
talking about hotels. You know there are certain hotels that charge exorbitantly for phone
calls or they charge exorbitantly for the night stays. SO rather than saying these hotels
are expensive you can say they are exorbitant.
Let's have a look at another phrase here which is - Daylight robbery. Now daylight robbery
is again a figurative phrase, its not literally we are talking about being robbed. Well, daylight
robbery when something is overcharged or over priced. when you go for vacations, you go
to a new place , you don't know the people out there, you don't know how things are priced
so at times you feel that the people out there kind of identify you that you are not from
the locality or you are not from the city or country and they tend to over charge you
so its absolutely daylight robbery. For example - a glass of juice is 10 dollars, wow that's
daylight robbery. So you go to a new city and there's this centre where you buy juice
from and a glass of juice is for 10 dollars. Well, I don't think so a glass of juice should
be more than 2 dollars. But if it's 10 dollars then it's absolutely daylight robbery. So
something that you feel is over priced or over charged, it means that it's daylight
robbery.
And then the next expression that we have for you is - to break the bank. Now break
the bank it means to spend the money or to spend all the money that you have in your
account, in you bank account. So my friends are going to Switzerland and they asked me
, Hey Niharika , do you want to join us for this trip? And what was my reply to this?
I said I would love to go to Switzerland, but if you are planning it now then I think
I will have to break the bank. It means that it's gonna be a little expensive for me right
now, I can't really afford it and if I have to go to Switzerland then I got to spend all
the savings that I have in my bank account, so I gotta break the bank. SO it obviously
means that something is expensive. To buy this new dress I gotta break the bank, so
break the bank means I have to spend all the money that I have in my bank which means this
dress is so expensive. So go ahead and use this phrase.
And then the last one that I have for you Pay top dollar. Now when you use this expression
it is actually used for people who are highly paid. Like celebrities when they endorse brands
they are highly paid. SO you can say that companies pay top dollar to these celebrities.
it means they are highly priced and they are highly paid to endorse brands. Or I would
say this Louis Vitton bag well I paid top dollar for it. it means this big brand, this
nice bag that I bought of Louis Vitton Well I paid too much of money for this. so go ahead
and use this expression when you are talking about something very very expensive.
This brings me to the end of this lesson. All of these 8 phrases can be used for the
things which are super expensive, well except for the first two which are not very expensive
but yes use these expressions and this will help you to speak fluently and confidently.
I will back with a new lesson for you till then you take care.