In today’s lesson, we’re going to be learning 20 English idioms which relate to money. These are
all phrases which are very common, you may have already heard them in conversational English.
Hello Everyone, Anna here from englishlikeanative.com the site which helps you
to speak English with confidence. And for those of you who would love to have an English accent, you
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Right 20 money idioms coming up.
There are many more which are not on this list so if you can think of one
I don’t mention, leave it in the comments and we can all learn together. Let’s get started.
1. A penny for your thoughts? This is a question which means ‘what are you
thinking about?’. If someone looks confused, you might ask them “a penny for your thoughts?”.
2. Cost a pretty penny If something costs a pretty penny, then it is very expensive.
3. A quick buck Money which was easy to make. If you sell something you own very easily,
you could say ‘it was a quick buck’ or ‘I made a quick buck’.
4. Daylight robbery Obvious, unfair overcharging. For example, a cinema selling a can of lemonade
for £3 when you could but it for 70p from the corner shop could be considered daylight robbery.
5. From rags to riches From poverty from wealth. We hear this saying about celebrities
who came from poverty-stricken backgrounds but now have lots of money,
they are wealthy. 6. I don’t have two pennies to rub
together This is a colloquial phrase which means ‘I am very poor, I don’t have much money at all’.
7. If I had a penny for every time this happened, I’d be rich. This
phrase is used to describe something that happens a lot. For example, you could say “If I had a
penny for every time you were late, I’d be rich.” 8. Money doesn’t grow on trees. This
is a saying that means money is not easy to acquire. It doesn’t grow on trees. You
often hear parents saying this to their children when they ask for something.
9. To be on the money To be correct about something or someone. For example,
you could say “I had an instinct that we should hire her and I was on the money”,
meaning you made a good choice to hire this person. She was the right choice.
10. Two sides of the same coin Two people with a shared goal but opposing views. For example,
you could say “I thought we should buy mum flowers but my sister said we should buy her chocolates
so we’re on two sides of the same coin.” 11. Strapped for cash To be ‘strapped for cash’
means to be short of money. For example: “The restaurant looks lovely but I’m a bit strapped for
cash at the moment. Could we go somewhere else?” 12. Ten a penny If something is ‘ten a penny’,
it is very common. The americanised version of this phrase is ‘a dime a dozen’.
13. To cut one’s losses To abandon a plan or a project which is clearly going to be unsuccessful
before the situation becomes worse.
For example: “It started raining as soon as we went outside for the BBQ so we decided to cut
our losses and have a takeaway inside instead.” 14. To earn a living To make enough money to live
comfortably. For example: “He earns a living by selling his art.”
15. To feel the pinch To experience financial hardship. For example: “Christmas is expensive
so it is common to feel the pinch in January.” 16. To foot the bill To
pay for everyone. For example: “It’s John’s birthday so I’ll foot the bill”.
17. To give someone a run for their money To be a challenging competitor.
For example: “Florence is a good baker but Joe could give her a run for her money.”
18. To have the penny drop To finally realise or understand something. For example:
“I used to find playing the guitar really difficult but now the penny has dropped.”
19. To spend a penny This is an interesting one because it means something very different to
what you’d expect. ‘To spend a penny’ means to go to the toilet. It’s a very British,
polite way of saying it. “Excuse me, I’m just going to spend a penny.”
20. Two cents Your opinion. You could ‘give your two cents’ or ‘put your two cents in’
and that just means to give your opinion about something.
So there we have 20 money-related British idioms. How many of them did you know already?
Can you think of any more? Let me know in the comments. section below until next time
there's a couple of other videos for you to sink your teeth into otherwise i'll see you soon bye