Idioms — Set 5

Set 5 of Idioms covers 5 idioms: make ends meet, cost an arm and a leg, throw money down the drain, hit the jackpot, pinch pennies. Each entry below includes its definition, an example sentence, and synonyms — practice them with the interactive cards above.

1. make ends meet · idiom/meɪk ɛndz mit/

   to have just enough money to be able to pay for your needs

   Many employees at the lowest end of the payscale need to work the extra hours to make ends meet.

   Origin: From the 1600s accounting phrase 'make both ends of the year meet' — balancing income against expenses.

2. cost an arm and a leg · idiom/kɑst ən ɑrm ənd ə lɛɡ/

   to be extremely expensive

   Staying at a five-star hotel will cost an arm and a leg.

   Origin: Possibly from old portrait painters charging more for paintings that included limbs, not just the head.

3. throw money down the drain · idiom/θroʊ ˈmʌni daʊn ðə dreɪn/

   to waste money

   Investing your money without an investment strategy will be throwing money down the drain.

   Origin: An early 20th-century image of money flowing irretrievably down a sewer drain, wasted completely.

4. hit the jackpot · idiom/hɪt ðə ˈdʒækpɑt/

   to unexpectedly win a lot of money or be successful

   Mark hit the jackpot and married Marie Lough, an heir to a telecomunnications fortune.

   Origin: From 19th-century poker — when no one could open with a strong hand, the 'jackpot' grew until claimed.

5. pinch pennies · idiom/pɪntʃ ˈpɛniz/

   to try and spend as little as possible; to economize to a great extent

   We didn’t have a lot of money, so my parents were always pinching pennies to make sure we had food on the table.

   Origin: Dates to the 1300s; from the literal action of squeezing every coin tightly before spending it.