Money Phrases

There are some quirky money related phrases that are used in the English language nowadays and the ones we’ve listed below relate to the more common ones you’ll hear when people talk about money.

money grabberWhat is a money grabber?
It is used to describe a person who is obsessed with the acquisition of money.

What does penny wise mean?
This term is used to describe people who are careful and spend their money wisely. This is usually used in the catchphrase “Penny wise and Pound foolish”.

What is meant when you describe something as twopenny-halfpenny?
This little saying means that the object is not valued, that it is unimportant and is used in a derogatory manner.

What is meant by the term ‘Money for Jam’?
This term is associated with a person who has achieved success of some kind with practically no effort whatsoever. Another saying is ‘money for old rope’.

What does ‘cash on delivery’ mean?
This simply means that when you order goods, you do not pay for them until they have been delivered.

What does the term ‘Penny pinching’ mean?
It’s associated with a person who is very careful, mean or stingy with their money. In Wales, people such as this are called ‘Cardis’. This originates from the old farming county of Cardiganshire – now called Ceredigion – whereby inhabitants were considered to be very prudent or “tight” with their money.

What does ‘Bob a Job’ mean?
Bob was the colloquial word for a shilling in Britain, and Boy Scouts used to call on people offering to do some chores for them in return for a shilling, which would then go into funding the Scouts activities.

What would you get if you were handed a ‘Penny dreadful’?
This saying referred to a cheap paperback book with stories about crime and horror. They were also sometimes referred to as ‘Shilling Shockers’.

What is meant by the phrase ‘A penny for your thoughts’?
It refers to a saying when you look as if you are deep in thought and someone wants to enquire if you are alright and what you are thinking about.

So next you overhear someone mentioning one of these phrases you’ll know exactly what they mean!

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