Money is no object~!

Continuing the money theme from my last post I thought of this expression while in class today:

Money is no object!

Now unfortunately, I've never been in a position to say this but I've heard it in movies & TV shows often enough. It simply means that "I don't care about the cost" or "I will pay whatever price you like" or "Spare no expense". Basically, it's used to tell a shopkeeper that you want the best and don't care about the price. You can find thefreedictionary.com's definition here.

I just won the lottery, give me your best bottle of champagne! Money is no object.

After my uncle got promoted he started spending like money was no object, eventually he went bankrupt!

Here's a great video of a talk where Alan Watts a British philosopher asks the question:

What would you do if money was no object?




Have a great weekend!

Phil

Put your money where your mouth is~!

Today we'll look at a few idioms linked to gambling. If you are very sure about something you could say:

I'd put money on it.

This means that you believe it so much that you are willing to bet money that you're right. It is generally used in the following grammar structure:

X would put money on Y

And since you are telling people about your high degree of certainty X is usually I.

I'd put money on it raining tomorrow.

I'd put money on Tom getting the promotion.

You might talk about other people but this isn't so common:

She'd put money on him proposing on their anniversary next week.

In this case it is a form of reported speech, you are telling someone that she told you he is sure he will propose on their anniversary.

Another, more dramatic way, to express a high degree of certainty that something is true/will happen is to say:

I'd stake my life on it

You often hear this in casual English and it is in a ton of movies where gangsters catch someone and want them to talk:

Gangster: Where's the money?

John: I don't know~!

Gangster: (breaks a finger) Where's the MONEY?

John: Tom might have it...

Gangster: MIGHT? (pushes on the broken finger)

John: He has it, he has it. I'd stake my life on it.

Gangster: You just did.

In this case you are literally saying "I'd bet my life on it" so if you are wrong they'll kill you!

The last idiom we'll look at is one where two people are arguing and someone says"

Put your money where your mouth is!

This means that you talk tough like you are right or can do something but prove it - make a bet and show me I'm wrong.

Al: I can sink 3 basketballs in 1 minute from half-court.

Bill: What? No way!

Al: I can, I do it all the time.

Bill: Put your money where your mouth is, 20$ says you can't.

Al: You're on, let's go to the basketball court and I'll show you how it's done.

So Al said he could do something, Bill didn't believe him and bet him 20$ he can't. They made a bet and now they will go find out who is right.

Have a nice weekend guys,

Phil

quarter

Ok, in my research I have not found any idioms dealing with a quarter coin(25 cents, common in the US and Canada) and I can't remember any either.

All I can remember are some common phrases such as:

Can you lend me a quarter?

This was a common question before cellphones when I was growing up as a payphone used to cost a quarter for a local call.

There is a game called quarters which is a drinking game where you bounce the quarter from the table into your opponents cup. If you get it in his/her cup they have to drink!

The idioms that use quarter DO NOT refer to the coin!

For example:

quarters: this is talking about living quarters, or the place where you live. It is mostly used in the military so you often hear it in dramas, like on a spaceship, your room might be called your quarters.

No quarter: here quarter means mercy and so no quarter=no mercy so attack with all your strength and destroy your enemy.

Hmm, that is all I can think of and it finishes our series on coin idioms! yay!!!

Time to get ready for work,

Phil

nickel

There are two spellings for this word and both are ok: nickle or nickel. The more common spelling these days seems to be nickel. There aren't so many idioms or sayings with associated with this coin but I will cover those I found.

Don't take any wooden nickels.

This is a saying used when someone leaves meaning be careful. It is pretty old fashioned and to be honest I have never heard it used in my life! It means: 　気をつけて。 It comes from counterfeit coins being used in the 19th century made of wood, so you are telling someone to be careful not to get any fake money.

nickel-and-dime

This means very ordinary and not important, it is not such a common usage.

That town is full of nickel-and-dime shops.

Meaning it is full or ordinary shops that are not interesting.

to nickel and dime (someone)

This is probably the most common nickel idiom and it is one of my pet peeves. I HATE it when companies or stores do this to me. This means to charge someone many small amounts for something or to charge you a small amount of money as an extra fee.

For example;

I went to an onsen in Tsuwano and the fee was really low but then I had to pay extra for towels, soap, shampoo, etc. They nickel and dimed me~! But in Korea, when I went to a jimjilbang(bath and sauna place) they charge a higher entry fee but everything is included: towels, robe, shampoo, etc. I prefer the second system, how about you?

Also, recently airlines are nickel and diming us, especially in the U.S. The airfare is cheap but then there are a million extra fees! Fuel surcharges, taxes, airport taxes, baggage fees, pay for your in-flight meal and drinks, pay for the headphones, etc.

penny

Ok, I guess I started a new idioms series about money idioms. Today, we will talk about the word, penny.

Now, a penny is a 1 cent coin commonly used in Canada, Australia, the U.S. and a long time ago even in the U.K. I will cover four idioms and two sayings, so here goes!

idioms

cost(someone) a pretty penny

This means that something was very expensive. You use it when you want to say something you bought was expensive without sounding arrogant or when you see something and are guessing it must have been expensive.

A: Did you see Bill's new car?

B: Yeah, it must have cost him a pretty penny!

or

My wife's new coat cost me a pretty penny.

not have two pennies to rub together

This means to be very poor.

Man, I'm broke! I don't even have two pennies to rub together.

My sister's new boyfriend doesn't have two pennies to rub together.
What a bum!

a penny ante

An ante is a bet when playing poker, usually the first bet of the game or hand. So, a penny ante is a small bet of little value or importance.

I ain't(am not) playing for no penny ante stakes!

Don't bother me with your penny ante problems~!

By the way, stakes are what you put in when you make a bet. For example:

A: What are the stakes?

B: If I win, you dress up like a woman for school tomorrow. If you win, I dress up like a teddy bear.

in for a penny, in for a pound

The definition I found says you use this when you decide to become very involved with an activity. That's true but I guess that is the usage in the U.K. and Australia.. in North America, we use this expression when something we are doing is going BADLY and we decide NOT to give up but to continue doing it anyways... I guess for us, it is more of a saying than an idiom.

A: How is your investment doing?

B: Badly. But you know what they say, in for a penny in for a pound.

sayings

A penny for your thoughts.

This is something you say when someone is being REALLY quiet and you want to know what they are thinking about.

A penny saved is a penny earned.

This is something you say when you mean it is wise or a good idea to save money instead of spending it.

That is it for now but we will have a few more posts in this series so I can cover nickles and quarters...

I hope you guys had great holidays,

Phil

Money!!!

Ok here's another quick lesson. In English, we have many casual words to talk about money. You can hear them in movies and on the street. Here are some of the most common ones:

10 bucks: This is used in Canada and the US, 1 buck=1dollar. A long time ago, people didn't use paper money or coins in North America so much. Most people were hunters and 1 buck skin(a male deer's skin) was the standard used when giving prices at general stores.

Mostly in the US, but also in Canada, we have these expressions:

a quarter=25 cents

a dime=10 cents

a nickel=5 cents

a penny=1 cent

There are also a few words for big money, the ones I have heard the most are a grand which means one thousand dollars(1000$). This was later shortened into 10Gs, meaning 10 grand or 10000$.

In Canada, you have:

a loonie=a 1 dollar coin(from the picture of the loon on it)

a toonie=a 2 dollar coin

I don't know much about the UK but this I know:

1 pound=1 quid

I heard a quid used to be a certain amount of tobacco but am not sure if that is where this expression came from.

1 pence=1 P

Which is pretty simple pence starts with P!

Ok that is it for now, more next week...

Phil