Thirty Five Idioms about Money

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  1. a penny for your thoughts? – what are you thinking about?
     
  2. a pretty penny – very expensive
     
  3. a quick buck – money which was easy to make
     
  4. cash cow – a business/product which generates a stable flow of income/profit
     
  5. daylight robbery – obvious, unfair overcharging
     
  6. from rags to riches – from poverty to wealth
     
  7. he who pays the piper calls the tune – the person who provides the money should choose how it is spent
     
  8. I don’t have two nickels/pennies to rub together – I am very poor
     
  9. if I had a nickel/penny for every time this happened – this happens a lot
     
  10. in for a penny, in for a pound – involved in seeing an undertaking through no matter how much money, time, or effort it requires
     
  11. mint condition – perfect condition
     
  12. money doesn’t grow on trees – money isn’t easy to acquire
     
  13. on the money – right about something/someone
     
  14. one man’s trash is another’s treasure – what is worthless to one person might be valuable to another
     
  15. other side of the coin/two sides of the same coin – an opposing view/two people with opposing views
     
  16. penny pincher – a frugal person
     
  17. strapped for cash – short of money
     
  18. ten a penny/dime a dozen – very common
     
  19. to cash in your chips – to die/ to sell something to gain whatever profit you can because you suspect its value will fall
     
  20. to cut your losses – to abandon a plan/project which is clearly going to be unsuccessful before circumstances become worse
     
  21. to earn a living – to make money enough money to live comfortably
     
  22. to feel the pinch – to experience financial hardship
     
  23. to foot the bill – to pay for everyone
     
  24. to get off scot free – to escape punishment/injury
     
  25. to give someone a run for their money – to be a challenging competitor
     
  26. to go bust – to become bankrupt
     
  27. to have money burning a hole in your pocket – to have money which you are eager to spend
     
  28. to have the penny drop – to finally realise/understand something
     
  29. to make big bucks – to make a lot of money
     
  30. to spend a penny – to go to the toilet
     
  31. to struggle to make ends meet – to struggle to survive on the money you earn
     
  32. to take someone to the cleaners – to cheat someone out of their money/possessions
     
  33. to turn up like a bad penny – to turn up where you are not wanted
     
  34. two cents – an opinion on an issue
     
  35. worth their/its weight in gold – to be extremely useful/valuable

If you’ve found this post useful, why not check out our other articles on idioms?

Have a good week!

Avani Shah

 


13 Oct 2014
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