Idioms and Sayings about Shopping

Idiom / Saying Explanation

To put all your eggs in one basket

For example:
To risk everything on one person or thing.
"You shouldn't invest all your money in
Microsoft, it would be like putting all your eggs
in one basket."
To buy a lemon.

For example: To buy something that proves to be worthless.

"That car he bought is a real lemon."

To buy a pig in a poke.

For example: To buy something that proves to be worthless.

"That car he bought is a real pig in a poke."

"To buy the farm."

For example: To die.

"He bought the farm last week."

"Own brand."

For example: When a company makes and sells its own

products.
"Marks and Spencers only sell own brand
goods."
"The drinks are on me."

For example: To offer to pay for something - usually food or

drink.
"He was celebrating his birthday, so the drinks
were on him."
To pay one's way.

For example: To contribute one's share of the expenses.

"He's a good friend, he always pays his way."

To pay over the odds.

For example:
To pay too much for something.
"She definitely paid over the odds for that
dress."
"To pay through the nose"

For example:
To pay too much for something.
"He ended up paying through the nose for that
car."
Closed shop.

For example:
a place of work where you have to belong to a
particular trade union.
"The motor industry in the UK used to be a
closed shop."

To be all over the shop.

1) To be in complete disarray.
For example:

1) "His papers were all over the shop."

2) To look everywhere for something.
2) "I've looked for it all over the shop, but I still
can't find it."
To shop around.

For example: To visit a number of shops to compare prices.

"I always shop around before I buy something."

"To shop lift."

For example: To steal goods from a shop.

"He was caught shop lifting."

"To shop someone."
To tell someone in authority of someone elses
For example:
wrong doings.
"He shopped her to the police.
To shop till you drop.

For example: To go on an extremely long shopping trip.

"She shopped till she dropped yesterday."

To shut up shop

For example:
To close somewhere (usually a business)
"Winter is so quiet we just shut up shop and go
on holiday.
To talk shop.

For example:
To discuss one's business or profession.
"He is very boring, all he does all day is talk
shop."
"Shopping therapy."

For example: The idea that buying things can cheer you up
- works for me :-)
"She was very upset so I took her into town for
some shopping therapy."
To try it on.

For example:
To attempt to decieve or fool someone.
"He never tells the truth about anything, he is
always trying it on."
 Idioms and Sayings about clothing

idiom meaning example sentence

at the drop of a without needing any My Grandma will babysit for

hat advance notice anyone at the drop of a hat.

(have a) bee in something that is Milan has had a bee in his bonnetall
one's bonnet annoying someone day, but he won't tell me what's
wrong.

below the belt beyond what is fair or His comment about Manfred's
socially acceptable handicap was below the belt.

bursting at the not fitting anymore I ate too much. I'm bursting at the
seams seams in these jeans.

caught with unprepared My students caught me with my

one's pants pants down on Monday. I forgot
down about the field trip.

(have a) card have a secret or reserve I think Josh has a card up his
up one's sleeve plan sleeve cause he wants me to wear a
dress to the fast-food restaurant.
buckle down work extra hard It's almost exam time, so I need
to buckle down this weekend.

burn a hole in money that one is Let's go to the mall after school.
one's pocket tempted to spend There's a hundred dollar
bill burning a hole in my pocket.

dress to kill, dress in nice or sexy My cousin was dressed to kill on

dress to the clothes her birthday.
nines

fit like a glove fit perfectly (tight to Anita's prom dress fits me like a
one's body) glove.

fine-tooth comb in great detail, The police looked for fingerprints

extremely carefully with a fine-tooth comb.

fly by the seat do by instinct, not by I had never taught art to kids before.
of one's pants plan I had to fly by the seat of my pants.

handle with kid treat delicately Please handle my grandmother's tea

gloves set with kid gloves.

hand-me-down used clothing We buy hand-me-down skates

because the kids' feet grow so
quickly.
hat trick three goals scored by The fans cheered when the hockey
one person player got a hat trick.

in one's in the nude The swimmers in the lake were in

birthday suit their birthday suits.

keep one's shirt try to stay calm I know you're in a hurry, but
on please keep your shirt on.

keep something keep something a We know we're having a boy, but

zipped secret we're keeping it zipped from the
grandparents.

off the cuff said without planning I didn't have a speech prepared.
Everything I said was off the cuff.

pull up one's try harder Marco will have to pull up his

socks socksif he wants to make the football
team.

put a sock in it stop talking Put a sock in it! I'm trying to tell a
story.

put one's think hard in order to I can't remember where the

thinking cap on solve a problem Christmas decorations are. I'll have
to put my thinking cap on.
put oneself in imagine what it would Put yourself in Amber's shoes. She
someone else's be like to be in doesn't even have a car to drive.
shoes someone else's
situation

ride one's let someone else do all It was a group project, but
coattails of the work everyone rode Andrew's coattails.

roll up one's get down to hard work The celebrities rolled up their
sleeves sleeves and washed cars for charity.

take one's hat recognize or honour I take my hat off to Jim. The
off to someone someone for something doctors said he'd never walk, and he
just ran a marathon.

wear one's display emotions My Dad's not afraid to cry. He

heart on one's openly always wears his heart on his
sleeve sleeve.

wear the be in charge, make the By the looks of things, the kids wear
trousers rules the trousers in this household.

Idioms and Sayings About Money and Bank

Idiom/Saying Explanation
A hole in the wall

For example:

1) A small place to live, stay or work in.

1) "We went for a drink at a little hole in the
wall near the university last night." 2) A cash machine.

2) "I went to the hole in the wall to get some

cash."

Break the bank.

For example:
Win all the money at a casino gambling table.
He broke the bank at the casino and walked
away with a lot of money.

To laugh all the way to the bank.

To make lot of money very easily, often

For example:-
because someone else has been stupid.
If we don't take this opportunity, you can be sure
our competitors will and they'll be laughing all
the way to the bank.

To not break the bank.

For example:
Not be too expensive
Going out for a drink in the pub won't break the
bank.

To bank on something/someone

For example: Something or someone you can be sure of.

"You can always bank on friends to help you."

Go for broke.

For example:
To risk everything in order to achieve the
result you want.
"She really wanted to pass her English exam, so
she went for broke and revised every day."

To be broke

For example: To have no money.

I can't go out tonight, I'm broke.

A cash cow

For example: A business or a part of a business that always

makes a lot of profit.
The British newspapers are the group's biggest
cash cow, earning nearly 40% of group profits.

Hard cash

For example:
Money in the form of coins or notes paper
money
They don't accept credit cards, we will need hard
cash.

Cash in your chips

For example:
To die.
He cashed his chips in shortly after his ninetieth
birthday.

Ready cash
Money that is available to spend.
For example:
We have a lot of investments but we need ready
cash to pay the bills.

To be strapped [for cash]

For example:
To be short of money.
Could you lend me a fiver? I seem to be a bit
strapped.

A blank cheque

For example:
As much money to spend as is wanted or
needed.
The project manager seems to think he has a
blank cheque.

The other side of the coin

For example:
The opposite view of something.
Running a web site is fun, but the other side of
the coin is that it costs a lot of money.

A bad debt

For example:
Money owed that is not likely to be paid.
The bank expects to lose millions of last year's
profits as a result of bad debts.

dough

For example:-
Slang for money.
I need to go to the cash point, I've run out of
dough.
e-cash
Money from a special bank account which is
For example: used to buy goods and services over the
Internet by sending information from your
computer
It is easier to pay on the net with e-cash.

A fool and his money are soon parted.

For example: Something we say which means that stupid

people spend money without thinking about it
Andrew is always buying the latest gizmos, a enough.
fool and his money are soon parted.

Blood money

For example: Money that has been gained from the death of
another person.
The assassin was paid his blood money.

Easy money

For example:
Money earnt with very little work or effort.
A lot of people think running a web site is easy
money.

Funny money

For example: Counterfeit money, or money from dishonest

activities.
She was caught trying to pay with funny money,

A licence to print money

Activity that allows people to become very
For example: rich without having to make any effort.
Some people think the TV licence fee is just a
licence to print money.

Money doesn't grow on trees.

For example:
Money isn't that easy to come by.
We can't afford to buy a house, money doesn't
grow on trees.

Money for old rope

For example:
A job that is an easy way of earning money.
A lot of people think being a professional
footballer is money for for old rope.

Money talks

For example:
People who are rich have a lot of power and
influence.
He seems to get away with murder I guess
money talks.

Money to burn

For example:
To have a lot of money to spend on things that
are not necessary
They buy a new car every year. They must have
money to burn.

Put your money where your mouth is

To follow up on words with action.
For example:
If people are really interested in helping the
homeless they should put their money where
their mouth is

Monopoly money

For example: Monopoly is the trademark for a game in

which you buy property with pretend money,
Whether he sells the house or not, it's all so monopoly money has little or no value.
monopoly money to him.

More money than sense.

For example:-
When someone seems to spend what money
Alex Hope spent £125,000 on a 30-litre Midas they have foolishly.
bottle of champagne. He has got more money
than sense.

Pin money

For example:
A small amount of money that you earn and
spend on things for yourself.
She teaches English for pin money for extra
treats for herself and the family.

Pots of money

For example: A lot of money.

Bill Gates has pots of money.

Throw money around

To spend money, especially in an obvious and
For example: careless way, on things that are not necessary.
They don't work but they have plenty of money
to throw around.

Hit pay dirt

For example:
To discover something very valuable or very
If a salesperson does not quickly hit pay dirt useful.
with a customer they will usually move straight
on to someone else.

Pay through the nose

For example:
To pay too much money for something.
I paid through the nose to get the bathroom
done.

Pay top dollar

For example: To pay a lot of money for something

If you want the best, you have to pay to dollar.

Pay your way

For example: To pay for yourself rather than allowing

someone else to pay
I teach English so that I can pay my way.

The devil to pay

For example:
To get into a lot of trouble.
If the company catches you making personal
calls there'll be the devil to pay!
A penny for your thoughts

For example: To ask someone what they are thinking about.

'You're very quiet. A penny for your thoughts.'

A pretty penny

For example: To be very expensive

That car must have cost you a pretty penny.

The penny drops

For example:
To finally understand something.
She looked confused for a while, but then the
penny dropped.

Turn up like a bad penny

For example:
To arrive at a place or event where you are not
wanted.
Whenever he wants money he turns up like a
bad penny.

A penny pincher / To penny pinch

For example:
A miser /To be a miser.
He left the pub before it was his round. He is
such a penny pincher.

In for a penny, in for a pound

To put a lot of money or effort into something.
For example:
He spends hours on his English every day. In for
a penny, in for a pound.

Dirt poor

Extremely poor
Most of the population in this undeveloped area
were dirt-poor and jobless.

As poor as church mice

For example:
Very poor
When we first got married, we were as poor as
church mice.

The pink pound

For example:
Money spent by people who are homosexual,
especially on entertainment.
Brighton is a lively, prosperous city, courtesy of
the pink pound.

To hold the purse strings

For example:
To control the spending of a family's or an
organization's money
The Financial Director holds the purse strings
here.

To loosen the purse strings

For example:
To allow more money to be spent.
We shouldn't expect the Chancellor to loosen the
purse strings too much in this year's Budget.
To tighten the purse strings

For example:
To reduce the amount of money that can be
spent
If we want to go on holiday this year we need to
tighten the purse strings a bit.

You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear

For example: If something is poor quality you can't do much

to improve it.
I new it wouldn't last, you can't make a silk
purse out of a sow's ear.

Filthy rich

For example: Extremely rich

Bill Gates is filthy rich.

Rob Peter to pay Paul

For example:
To borrow money from one person to pay
back money you borrowed from someone else.
If you keep robbing Peter to pay Paul, you'll
never be out of debt.

Strike it rich

For example: To suddenly become rich

He struck it rich in the computer business.

Spend money like water

To spend too much.
For example:
If you spend money like water, you'll always be
broke.

Spend a penny

For example: To go to the toilet.

Excuse me, I must go and spend a penny.

Have your fingers in the till

For example:
To steal money from the place where you
work.
She had her fingers in the till, that's why she lost
her job.