Idioms about money - it won't cost you anything to learn
Here is the list of idioms about money
Earn a fortune
to earn a lot of money
- He made a fortune on the stock market.
Tighten your belt
to reduce the amount of money that you normally spend
- We’ve had to tighten our belts since my mother lost her job.
On/below the breadline
having very little money or a very low income to live properly
- They are living on the breadline.
Get your fingers burnt
to suffer loss as the result of doing something risky
- He got his fingers burnt in foreign markets.
Chicken feed
an amount of money that is so small to be significant
- It’s a nice job but the pay is chicken feed.
Cost an arm and a leg
to be extremely expensive
- The fur coat cost her an arm and a leg.
Have deep pockets
to have a lot of money
- a company that has deep pockets
Feel the pinch
to have financial problems because you are not earning as much as you used to earn
- When his parents lost their jobs they began to feel the pinch.
Hard up
not having enough money
- I’m too hard up these days.
Ill-gotten gains
money that was not made in a legal or dishonest way
- He was spending his ill-gotten gains in casinos.
Keep the wolf from the door
to have just enough money to buy basic necessities such as food and clothing
- He works part-time to help keep the wolf from the door.
Laugh all the way to the bank
to earn a lot of money easily
- If our main competitor wins the building contract they’ll be laughing all the way to the bank.
Licence to print money
an opportunity to make a large amount of money with little effort
- His chain of pubs and restaurants is a licence to print money.
Live/be in clover
to live a comfortable life because you have a lot of money
- My dream is to win the lottery and live in clover forever.
Make a killing
to earn a lot of money quickly and without much effort
- He made a killing in network marketing.
Easy money
money that you get with little work
Coin it/money
to earn a lot of money easily
- He is coining money with that software.
In the money
having a lot of money; rich
- He is in the money now and wants to buy a bigger house.
Be rolling in it/money
to be very rich
- He has a Rolls-Royce. He must be rolling in money.
Have money to burn
to have a lot of money to spend
- He likes to dine at expensive restaurants. He’s got money to burn.
Made of money
very rich
- I’m not going on an extravagant vacation. I’m not made of money.
Marry money
to marry a wealthy person
- She married money – her husband is a successful businessman.
Money for jam/old rope
money that is earned with little work; easy money
- I think house sitting is money for old rope.
Money talks
used for saying that people with money have a strong influence on other people
Broke
having no money
- Can you lend me some money? I’m flat broke.
Pin money
a small amount of extra money that someone earns to spend on pleasure rather than essentials
- He walks the neighbour’s dog to earn pin money.
Pay through the nose
to pay a high price for something
- She paid through the nose for the leather jacket.
Purse stings
used to refer to the amount of money that is spent by a family, company, or country
- My wife holds [=controls] the family purse stings.
- The government decided to tighten the purse stings [=spend less money].
Nest egg
a sum of money that is saved to use it for something in the future
- Do you have a savings plan for building up a nest egg?