How much is “a monkey“, and does that have anything to do with being “paid peanuts“?
You won’t find a “gravy train” on your dinner table and “making dough” is nothing to do with cooking either.
These are everyday idioms that are used to refer to money and finances. There are many phrases and sayings about money that we use all the time, without really thinking about how they sound to people who are not familiar with them, or to people who are learning English. And to such people idioms can sound downright weird!
This guide to financial idioms from Vouchercloud should help to make things a lot clearer, as it includes the meanings of money related idioms, and it looks at their origins, which are often as strange as the sayings themselves.
Highly recommended !
Written by Sam Brown – writer and content creator with a love of language. He contributes to various publications online and print, and is based in the UK.