Class exercises:

1. Fill in empty spaces with corresponding words below, translate the passage.

belt nest egg

end pinch

golden handshake red

Head shoestring

mouth door

My grandfather was given a _______ (1) when he retired after 45 years with the firm. He was very glad of it at the time, because in the last two or three years he’d had to break into his _______ (2) to pay for some urgent house repairs. But prices have been rising so much lately that everyone is starting to feel the ______ (3). The politicians are fond of telling us we’ll all have to tighten our ______ (4). We’ve no choice! My rent’s gone up, my fares have gone up, yet my salary is the same as it was two years ago, so I’m finding it very difficult to make ______ s meet (5).

Things could be worse, I suppose. When I was a student I lived on a ______ (6). As soon as the money came in, I spent it: I really lived from hand to ______ (7). Things weren’t much better when I started work. My first job was very badly paid, and I barely managed to keep my ______ above water (8). I earned just enough to keep the wolf from the ______ (9). Sometimes several bills would have to be paid at the same time and then I often got letters from the bank manager telling me I was in the ______ (10) again.

2. Select the description from the right column which most accurately explains the idioms in the left column. One of the descriptions can be used three times.

1. He got a golden handshake.	A. He had very little money and lived very cheaply.
2. He had to break into his nest egg.	B. He had to economise.
3. He felt the pinch.	C. He was in debt.
4. He had to tighten his belt.	D. He started to spend his savings.
5. He found it hard to make ends meet.	E. He was given a large sum of money when he retired.
6. He lived on a shoestring.	F. As soon as money came in he spent it in order to live.
7. He lived from hand to mouth.	G. He had just enough money to live on without getting into debt.
8. He just managed to keep his head above water.	H. His life was not as easy or comfortable as it had been previously, because he didn’t have that much money anymore.
9. He kept the wolf from the door.
10. He was in the red.

3. Use these words to complete the following passage and translate it.

dollar fortune money penny pound

Jessica Creighton was rolling in ________ (1): she had made a ________ (2) writing romantic fiction. Every new book she brought out sold like hot cake, even though her son, George, said the stories were all the same. “ They are just not realistic,” he told her, “Your heroines always look like a million _______ s (3), start off poor and end up worth a ______ (4)”. Every story follows the same rags-to-riches formula. It’s _________ for jam (5). This deeply offended Jessica, and consequently she refused to give him any financial help. There she was with ________ to burn (6), but she refused to support her only son. He would have to support himself.

In his youth of course, George had spent ________ like water (7). Now, without a _________ to his name (8), he found it very difficult to change his ways. He made little economies, believing the old saying that if you take care of the pennies the _________ s will take care of themselves (9), but really it was a case of ________ wise pound-foolish (10). Whenever he found himself unexpectedly in the _________ (11), it burned a hole in his pocket and spent it as if there was no tomorrow.

The 64,000 ________ question (12) was, would George inherit his mother’s ________ (13)? According to her will, she left everything to a cats’ home, and George would not see a _________ (14) of it. When she died, he contested the will in the courts. He hired the most expensive lawyers he could find, but it was ________ down the drain (15). In the end, the cats won.

4. a) Put the words in the correct order to make up idioms.

1. to, bargains, up, pick;

2. a bit, top, to, over, cost, the;

3. dirt, cheap, be, to;

4. bit, set, a, to, somebody, back;

5. through, nose, pay, to, the;

6. off, be, to, ripped;

7. money, to, off, knock;

8. arm, cost, and, an, somebody, a, leg, to;

9. make, can’t, meet, ends;

10. the, red, in, be, to.

b) Use these idioms in the situations below and translate them.

1. - I checked the prices in the new restaurant yesterday. Pizzas start at the £8?

- £8! That’s … , isn’t it?

2. – Have you seen John’s new car?

- Yes, lovely, isn’t it? I bet it … !

3. – What have you been doing this morning?

• Just shopping. I … a few bargains in the sales.

4. – Renting a flat in London is getting more and more expensive. It’s ridiculous.

• I know. You have to … for anything with more than two rooms.

5. – Where do you get your blank videos from?

• A little shop behind the library. They are … there.

6. – Hey. I love your new jacket. It IS new, isn’t it?

• Yes, I got it last weekend. It was not cheap. It cost me … .

7. - Sorry, I am late. I had to get a taxi here. He charged me £12. Is that normal?

• £12? I’m afraid you’ve just been … .

8. - £50 for a CD player? How did you manage to get it so cheap?

• It’s an ex-display model, so they … £45 … the list price.

9. – I left my office job and started to work in a bar.

• Do they need one more barman here? We … these days.

10. – There simply isn’t enough demand for our product. We’ve been operating … for the last year.