Idioms A to Z 6: Idioms with money 003

In this episode, Kevin and Jack talk about three more idioms about money 💰

to break even

to be closefisted

to go Dutch

Website: https://atozenglishpodcast.com/idioms-6/

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Intro/Outro Music by Eaters: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/eaters/the-astronomers-office/agents-in-coffee-shops/

Directions: Use each idiom in a sentence.

 

1.

 

2.

 

3.

 

 

Transcript 

 

 Jack: 

 

You are listening to the A-Z English podcast. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Welcome to A-Z English, where today we've got some idioms From A-Z. we're going to have three idioms that we're going to put in a quick dialogue for you, and then we're just going to talk about and explain so you can learn how to use them in your everyday speech. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

So we've got some more money idioms today, Jack. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

What's our what's our dialogue? 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Let's start off with this. 

 

 Jack: 

 

OK, so Kevin, I got married last week and I went on my, I went on my honeymoon and we nearly. 

 

 Jack: 

 

Broke the bank. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Yeah, honeymoons can be expensive. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

I really wanted to go on a really big honeymoon, but my wife is really close fisted. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

She would never let me spend that much. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Money on just a trap. 

 

 Jack: 

 

Well, let's meet up for coffee sometime and talk about. 

 

 Jack: 

 

Our honeymoon's. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

You know, nice. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

That'll be really fun, but we're going to have to go Dutch 'cause. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Like I said, I've got to really watch my money. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

I can't spend too much. 

 

 Jack: 

 

OK, there we go. Nice. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

All right, so. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Anybody listening

 

 Kevin: 

 

Did you did you catch the idioms on there? 

 

 Speaker 3 

 

We've got. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Three, the first one was to break the bank, the next is to be close fisted. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

And the last is to go Dutch. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

This one is probably the most common one, I think. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Go Dutch. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Do you want to just start with that? 

 

 Kevin: 

 

One I think. 

 

 Speaker 3 

 

Yeah, sure. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

That one that I've heard so many people use. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

To to go Dutch, I mean even in Korean they use. 

 

 Jack: 

 

Dutch pay, yeah. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

They changed it though Dutch pay, but it's the same idea to to go Dutch and this is how we use it in English. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

To go Dutch or. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Past tense. We went Dutch. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Right. And what does that? 

 

 Jack: 

 

To go Dutch means that you split the Bill 50/50 on a date. So if you go on a date with someone. 

 

 Jack: 

 

And you go to a restaurant and let's say the meal costs $50.00 five 5050 dollars. One person. The man will where one person will pay $25.00 and the other person will pay $25.00. So you split split it 55th. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Right. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

So we got cheaper for the, yeah. 

 

 Jack: 

 

Go Dutch. 

 

 Jack: 

 

So do you think Dutch people? 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Yeah, and I. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Don't know where this one comes from. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

They always just. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

There's a stereotype. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

We should talk about stereotypes sometimes, but there's a stereotype that Dutch people are really cheap, and that's probably not true. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

I know some very nice Dutch people, so if there's any Dutch people listening, you know, no offense, but yeah, to go Dutch. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Is because the Dutch people are. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

There's a stereotype that they're very cheap and that they would never buy you dinner, but they would go Dutch style. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

And you'd have to pay half and half. 

 

 Jack: 

 

Like most stereotypes, it's not true. 

 

 Jack: 

 

They're not based in reality. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Right. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

And then how about them to break the bank? 

 

 Kevin: 

 

So is that. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Like robbing a bank. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Can I go in and steal a bunch of money? 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Is is that without breaking the bank name? 

 

 Jack: 

 

No, this one I think. 

 

 Jack: 

 

I think this one has to do with. 

 

 Jack: 

 

I'm not sure, but I believe it has to. 

 

 Jack: 

 

Do with the Piggy Bank. 

 

 Jack: 

 

And so you know a Piggy Bank is a little a little glass it it can't be anything but long time ago they they were glass pigs and it has a little slot on the top. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Oh, that makes sense. That's. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

A Piggy Bank just for. 

 

 

 Jack: 

 

Of it where you can put a coin inside. 

 

 Jack: 

 

Side and you fill it up and what would happen is kids would mostly, kids would use piggy banks and they would put their little coins in there and then when it's all full they would smash it with a hammer and then count up the coins and then take it to the bank and you know, get dollars or or open a bank account. 

 

 Jack: 

 

Or something like that. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Kind of a way to save money at home. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

You would put put coins into your Piggy Bank at at home. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

That's an interesting idiom in itself, actually. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Is the Piggy Bank. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

That mention of a Piggy Bank? 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Most most countries wouldn't have that. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

So yeah, it could save you, save money in your Piggy Bank, and it's, yeah, shaped like a pig. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

So yeah, you break the Piggy Bank. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

And that means that you. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Spend almost all your money, yes. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

You spend a lot of money. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Similar to costing an arm and a leg 

 

but a little bit different. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

It just almost cost all of it. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

So, you know, I bought a house last week. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

We almost broke the bank and it was very expensive. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Like almost all my money is gone for breaking the bank. 

 

 Jack: 

 

Yeah, yeah. 

 

 Jack: 

 

Not just your regular spending money, but your savings. 

 

 Jack: 

 

So are you breaking into your savings? 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Yeah, right, right. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Taking all your money out. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Of the bank account to to buy. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Whatever it is and then finally close fisted so to be close to close something and your fist is you know when you punch someone you know you put your hand into a fist is closed fisted so when your fist is closed what does what. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Does this mean to? 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Be close fisted he or she was close fisted. 

 

 Jack: 

 

So imagine that there's like a dollar inside your hand, and your right wrapped your hand. 

 

 Jack: 

 

You're making a fist, and you've got your dollar so tightly in your hand that you're making a. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

I've got my dollar. 

 

 Jack: 

 

Just close fisted means you don't want to pay for anything. 

 

 Jack: 

 

You know, you just want to hold onto your money and not let your money go. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Right. 

 

 Jack: 

 

And so if somebody says you're closed fisted, it means you're cheap. 

 

 Jack: 

 

You don't want to pay for anything. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Yeah, so like there's there's a work office. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Party coming up. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Really soon, right? And everyone is paying $5 to buy some snacks for the party. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

And it's like we go up and it's like, hey, Steve, do you think did Steve give his money? 

 

 Kevin: 

 

For the office party. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

It's like, Oh no, Steve is really close fisted, he wouldn't even give us. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

$5 for the Christmas party, he's. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

He's really cheap. 

 

 Jack: 

 

Or you wanna you forgot your wallet at home and you want to borrow a dollar from your coworker to get. 

 

 Jack: 

 

A. A split. 

 

 Jack: 

 

In the soda machine. 

 

 Jack: 

 

And you say, hey, can I? 

 

 Jack: 

 

Can I borrow a dollar? 

 

 Jack: 

 

I'll pay you. 

 

 Jack: 

 

Back tomorrow? 

 

 Jack: 

 

Oh no, I don't have any. 

 

 Jack: 

 

I don't have a dollar, you know, but they really do. 

 

 Jack: 

 

And so they're being close fisted, you know, they don't want to. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Yeah, yeah. 

 

 Jack: 

 

To lend you. 

 

 Jack: 

 

Any money or give you any money? 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Right. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Being really stingy, really not spending, not spending your money, being very Scrooge. 

 

 Jack: 

 

Yeah, stingy. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Y finish with your month. 

 

 Jack: 

 

We have a lot of words for. 

 

 Jack: 

 

That right? 

 

 Jack: 

 

Tight, cheap, stingy. 

 

 Jack: 

 

Yeah, yeah. 

 

 Jack: 

 

Yeah, or? 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Quite, quite a few. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

I guess we Americans don't like to spend money. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Which we try and keep it all. 

 

 Speaker 3 

 

Yeah, yeah. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Well, those those are our three idioms for the day. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

So again to break the bank or past tense broke the bank, we broke the bank to be close fisted and to go Dutch or we went Dutch in the past tense. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

So for everybody listening in our show notes or on our website, you can join our WhatsApp group on Facebook or leave a comment right on the website and give us some examples trying to use these idioms. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

When was something that you when you almost broke the bank? 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Do you have any friends who are closed fisted? 

 

 Kevin: 

 

When was the last time? 

 

 Kevin: 

 

You and your friends went Dutch. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

You know what's common for you and your friends. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Do you spend money? 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Does one person by or do? 

 

 Kevin: 

 

You usually go Dutch. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

So give us some examples of those. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

And if you've got time as well, please don't be stingy, don't be close fisted. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Go onto Apple Podcasts and leave us a comment and a quick five star review and that would. 

 

 Kevin: 

 

Really help other people to find out about some more idioms from A-Z English. So thanks everybody and we'll see you next time. 

 

 Jack: 

 

Bye, bye. 

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