"MONEY" IDIOMS

 









 
Keep the wolf from the door. to have enough money to be able to eat and live.

e.g     John and his wife didn't earn much, but it was enough to keep the wolf from the door.

Live (from) hand to mouth
to have just enough money to live on and nothing extra.
e.g    My father earned very little and there were four of us kids so we lived from hand to mouth

to pinch pennies:

to spend as little money as possible:
e.g      When we were first married we had to pinch pennies just to get by.

Make a killing (informal): to make a lot of money in a short time.


e.g      My friend John made a killing on the stock market.

To be broke : to have no money

e,g       My boyfriend often says he is broke. I think he is a bit stingy.

make (both) ends meet
Fig. to earn and spend equal amounts of money. (Usually in reference to a meager living with little if any money after basic expenses.) 

e.g     I have to work at two jobs to make ends meet. Through better budgeting, I am learning to make both ends meet.

Nest egg: money saved for the future.

e.g     I often tell my friend Lucy that she should build a nest egg for her retirement.

Loan shark someone who lends money at very high rates of interest


   e.g   I advised Phoebe not to borrow money from a loan shark, but she didn't listen to me.

Chicken feed n. (fam.) insignificant amount of money (= peanuts)


e.g    The amount of money I could lend him was chicken feed compared to what he needed.

by Speak American English Fluently