The A to Z English Podcast Idioms A to Z 005: Idioms with money 2
In this episode, Kevin and Jack talk about three idioms about money 💰
to pay an arm and a leg for something
to be give someone a run for their money
to break even
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Directions: Use these three idioms in sentences.
to pay an arm and a leg for something
to be give someone a run for their money
to break even
Full Transcript:
Jack:
You are listening to the A-Z English podcast.
Kevin:
Welcome to A-Z English, and today we're bringing you some more idioms from A-Z. We're going to give you a few idioms today. Breaking down an example and then try and explain how you can use them in your everyday speech. So a quick dialogue,
Jack:, go ahead.
Jack:
So Kevin:, I bought a new car yesterday.
Kevin:
Oh yeah, how much was it?
Jack:
It was expensive, it cost me an arm and a leg, but I won the race and with my winnings I almost broke even.
Kevin:
Wow, nice.
Kevin:
You know, I've got a pretty nice car too, so the next time we're out there we can try and race each other and maybe you can give me a run for my money.
Kevin:
All right, so everybody out there listening. We had three idioms as always. Did you catch them? And if so, can you think? Of them really quick.
Kevin:
Well, the three were first to something costs an arm and a leg.
#2 to give something or give someone a run for your money and.
Finally, to break even.
Kevin:
So what do these mean?
Kevin:
Cost an arm and a leg. Jack:, how much was your hat? Well, it costs $10, right? They something cost but to cost an arm and a leg.
Kevin:
But what does that mean?
Kevin:
I've only got. Well, I've got two arms. I've got. Two legs.
Jack:
Right, you only have for your life your yeah, in your whole life you get 2 arms and two legs.
Kevin:
I keep them all.
Jack:
So imagine if you bought something and you had to pay with one arm and one leg.
Jack:
It would be something.
Kevin:
That sounds very expensive.
Jack:
It better be something really nice because you're giving up so much, right?
Jack:
You're giving up your arm and your leg.
Jack:
And of course.
Jack:
I think we mentioned this before, but, you know, idioms are metaphors, right? You know, so obviously we're not talking about chopping off your arm or your leg.
Kevin:
Right.
We have really.
Jack:
But but that's how it. That's how it feels sometimes when you buy something really, really expensive, you feel like you're giving, you're giving so much money for that thing, yeah?
Jack:
Paying so much money for. It but it feels like. You're giving them your arm and your leg. And so that's where it comes from.
Kevin:
I remember actually cars are a good example.
Kevin:
I remember when I bought my first car when I was a student back many years ago in America. It wasn't a very nice car. It wasn't a very expensive car, you know, it was a cheap student car. But for me it cost an arm and a leg because I was a student. I was very. I didn't have a lot of money at the time and so even buying a cheap. Our cost an arm and a leg, so whatever it is, if it costs a Lot for you.
It can cost. An arm and a Leg. like we talked About going to space the other day in our space travel episode.
Jack:
Or yeah.
Kevin:
And going to space could will cost an arm and a leg.
Kevin:
It cost so much money, it's very expensive to.
Jack:
An arm and a leg and.
Jack:
And maybe an ear and an eyeball.
Kevin:
Well, maybe that's quite quite a bit to go to space at this point, so let's play to consider.
Jack:
Yeah, but the idiom is only an arm and a leg, so yes.
Jack:
Joking there.
Kevin:
So then next is run for the money to give someone a run for their money.
Kevin:
Is that how you run? Does money run?
Kevin:
Do we run for? Do I run to the money? Do I run for the money? What? What is this one?
Jack:
Yeah, well, is. You know, in our dialogue we talked about a race, so imagine 2 hours are racing and if one car is a BMW and the other car is a very old broken down terrible car.
The BMW is going to win and the broken down old car.
My few your first, right, mine too.
Kevin:
First part in high school.
Jack:
My first car in high school could not give the BMW a run for its money because it cannot match the speed of the BMW.
Jack:
But what would be maybe like a Mercedes and BMW in that case, Kevin:, what would that be?
Jack:
The Mercedes?
Kevin:
Yeah, the that theyCan give each other a run for their money.
Kevin:
Right, or or.
Exactly. They're almost equal, right?
Kevin:
And yeah, they're almost.
Kevin:
Almost equal.
Kevin:
And like if you give someone a run for them and usually you still win, but the other person like competes.
Kevin:
So you know Jack: you've been. You played a lot of basketball when you were younger and I didn't play a lot.
So, you know, you would expect that I wouldn't be very good.
But let's say you and I go out to play some basketball and.
You know, we play and I almost beat you.
You know, we get really close to score and you're like, wow, you gave me a run for your money or run for my money.
Like, even though I didn't beat you, you really didn't think I'd have any?
Chance at all, but I still did pretty well.
Jack:
Yeah, it's it's this is.
Jack:
Always like in the in the theme of like competition.
Jack:
So think of like running a race, playing basketball, car race.
Jack:
A marathon like Kevin almost beat me in basketball.
Jack:
In that case, I would say, wow, you gave me a run for my.
Jack:
Money you were a.
Jack:
Good competitor.
Jack:
You were not easy to defeat.
Jack:
And so if someone is not easy to defeat then you can say to them, ah, you gave me a run for my money or.
Kevin:
Yes, exactly.
Jack:
My almost be.
Jack:
You and you're really good at something.
Jack:
I gave you a run for your money.
Jack:
It was a good competition.
Kevin:
Yep, Yep, yeah.
Jack:
It wasn't.
Kevin:
And then finally, break Even so we're not actually talking about breaking anything here.
Kevin:
We'd like to keep all of our things intact.
Jack:
But to break.
Kevin:
Even means to come to the same level.
Kevin:
Right.
Kevin:
So if I went, you talked about winning a race, right?
Kevin:
And that can be it, but let's say.
Kevin:
Yesterday I did.
Kevin:
A part time job and I earned $100 for doing this part time job.
Kevin:
But then I took my wife out for a really nice dinner.
Kevin:
And the dinner.
Kevin:
Was $120.00.
Kevin:
So I almost broke even in so past tense into past tense verbs or broke even.
Kevin:
For that, I almost earned the amount of money that I paid for dinner with my part time.
Kevin:
Yeah, I had to break even.
Jack:
There you go.
Kevin:
I'm almost back to zero again.
Kevin:
You know, I spent a lot of money.
Jack:
This happened to me the other day.
Kevin:
But I almost turned again.
Jack:
I went to the store.
Jack:
And I bought.
Jack:
Some milk and I bought some soda and I bought some tuna fish and it was.
Jack:
About $10.
Jack:
And then the next day, I woke up, I went outside and I found $10.00 on the sidewalk.
Jack:
In front of my house.
Jack:
And so I broke even. I spent right $10.00, but I found $10 and so I didn't lose anything.
Jack:
I wasn't in the positive or the negative.
Jack:
It was just a break.
Jack:
I broke even.
Jack:
I got my money back and we used a lot.
Kevin:
Or have you ever bought a lottery ticket?
Jack:
Of gambling, right?
Jack:
Yeah, yeah, sure.
Kevin:
Yeah, I've never I I never was big into lottery. But sometimes my friends and I, we would just like for $1.00 by the little scratch tickets.
Kevin:
Yeah, and you know, sometimes you'll scratch it off, and most of the time you win nothing. But sometimes you win $1.00 back and it's like, wow, I broke even. I got my $1.00 back.
Kevin:
I'm, I'm at.
Kevin:
I didn't win.
Kevin:
I didn't lose.
Kevin:
I'm at 0.
Jack:
Yeah, we have a, we have a a joke in English we call someone who always breaks even, even Steven, right?
Jack:
Isn't that kind of like a?
Jack:
I think it's.
Kevin:
Yeah, it's it's similar.
Uh, yeah.
Kevin:
It's connected.
Kevin:
It's like, let's let's do things together.
Kevin:
Let's do it even Steven, let's let's make everything fair, right?
Jack:
Oh, there you go, right?
Kevin:
Even everything zero.
Jack:
OK. And so you go to, you know, Las Vegas and you lose $10 or you lose $100 and you win $100, you broke even.
Jack:
So there you go.
Jack:
Yeah, cool.
Kevin:
All right. So everybody.
Kevin:
There we are.
Kevin:
So to, to.
Cost an arm and.
Kevin:
A leg to give someone a run for your money and to break even.
Kevin:
So come to our WhatsApp group on our web page or in the show notes and or Facebook or.
Kevin:
Even on the website.
Kevin:
You can comment and tell us a time try and use these idioms.
Kevin:
What was something that you bought?
Kevin:
That costs an arm and a leg.
Kevin:
Has someone given you a run for your money with something that you're good at and they almost beat you, but in a competition?
Kevin:
And was sometime that you broke even?
Kevin:
Or maybe almost broke even with with money and it came to about 0.
Kevin:
So thanks for listening and if you're on Apple Podcasts and you can give us a 5 star review and.
Leave a comment that would be super helpful and we'll see you all next time for some more idioms A-Z bye bye.
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