Business Vocabulary


7 Money Idioms and Expressions


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Are you looking for some common money idioms? Well, you are in the right place! This page will teach you 7 expressions to talk about money. Definitions, examples, and the origin of these idioms are provided.

Money is a very important topic. After all, everybody needs money to buy things. English has different expressions to talk about money. Here are 7 of them. Let’s get the ball rolling!


1. Cost an arm and a leg:

If something costs an arm and a leg, it is extremely expensive. There are other variations of this idiom: cost a bomb, cost the earth, cost a fortune, and cost the earth.

There are many speculations about the origin of this phrase. It may refer to the high cost that some soldiers paid in world war II when they had their arms and legs amputated. Another theory about the origin of the idiom comes from earlier expressions that refer to the high cost of something. Examples of these earlier expressions include:

I'd give my right arm to own a horse like that.

It takes an arm and a leg to buy a house in that city.

Here are some examples: of the idiom:

Betty: How did you pay for this beautiful car?

Jane: Well, it cost me an arm and a leg.

2. Quote a price

To quote a price means to state in advance the price for something.

Here are some examples:

The mason quoted a price of 500$ to fix the roof of my house.

Can you quote me a price for how much this repair will cost?

In business, a quoted price is the most recent price at which an investment, or any other type of asset, has traded.

3. A dime a dozen

This phrase is used to talk about anything common, inexpensive, and easy to get or available anywhere. The phrase has a negative connotation. We use this idiom if we think that something is of low value.

The origin of the idiom comes from the United States during the nineteenth century. Goods such as eggs or apples used to be advertised to cost a dime a dozen.

Here are some examples:

We don't need someone like him in this company. People with his skills are a dime a dozen these days.

These jeans might look expensive, but they are a dime a dozen.

I don't like this type of shoes. They are a dime a dozen.

They are a dime a dozen in the next store.

4. Big bucks

The phrase big bucks means lots of money.

The term 'buck' is used to refer to a dollar in informal English. This use can be traced back to the American colonial days when deerskin or buckskins were commonly exchanged for goods.

Here are some examples:

The new managing director must be making big bucks after his promotion.

He signed a contract for big bucks

He made big bucks

I spent big bucks on this software.

She spent big bucks on her wedding.

5. Be a license to print money

If a company or activity is a license to print money, it generates a lot of money without much effort. This expression usually shows disapproval of an activity that makes easy money.

Wikipedia attributes the origin of the idiom to Roy Thompson of Scottish Television around 1956.

Here are some examples:

Advertising companies are just a license to print money.

Real estate companies are given a license to print money.

The national lottery is nothing more than a licence to print money.

6. Bet your bottom dollar

You use this phrase when you are certain about something. When betting your last dollar, you are hypothetically risking your last dollar on it, which means that you are certain that something will happen or that something is true.

What's the origin of this idiom?

This expression probably refers to the piles of coins on a poker table. A player who is sure to win would bet by pushing all the coins to the center of the table.

Here are some examples:

I bet my bottom dollar he is involved in this crime.

I'm going to figure out exactly what happened – you can bet your bottom dollar on that!

You can bet your bottom dollar. The whole thing will end tragically.

I can bet my bottom dollar that she will get the top score. She never loses.

7. Pay through the nose

If you pay through the nose for something, you pay more than a fair price. The price you pay is not reasonable and you are emphasizing that you had to pay what you consider too high a price for it.

The origin of this expression is not clear. It may be linked to tax payment, referring to the 'Nose Tax' the Danes imposed on the Irish in the ninth century.

Here are a few examples of this phrase:

 

I have to pay through the nose for my degree because I am an immigrant.

We will have to pay through the nose for the election campaign.

If you want to buy that leather jacket, you will have to pay through the nose.

She paid through the nose for her new car.

Let’s recap!

1. Cost an arm and a leg - cost a lot of money.
2. Quote a price - state in advance the price for something
3. A dime a dozen - cheap.
4. Big bucks - lots of money.
5. Be a license to print money - something that generates a lot of money without much effort.
6. Bet your bottom dollar - you are certain about something.
7. Pay through the nose - pay more than is reasonable.