Money & Finance

Talking about pounds, pence, and being skint

简介

钱让世界运转，而英国人发展出了一套色彩丰富的词汇来谈论它——尤其是谈论“没钱”这件事。从“quid（英镑的日常说法）”到“skint（身无分文）”，这些词反映了一种务实而常常带点幽默的理财态度。

英式金钱俚语有趣的地方在于它已经变得“无阶级”了。“Quid”从菜市场的小贩到国会议员，人人都在用。“Skint”是一种超越社会阶层的状态——谁还没穷过呢？

很多词的起源可以追溯到英国的商业历史，从拉丁商人到伦敦东区的市场叫卖者。无论是分账还是谈工资，这些词汇对在英国生活的人来说都是必备的。

主题

本章全部英语俚语（94）

• Quid British pound sterling (informal)
• Fiver A five pound note
• Tenner A ten pound note
• Bob One shilling (historical); still used idiomatically
• Dosh Money, cash
• Readies Ready cash, money on hand
• Lolly Money
• Wonga Money, cash
• Brassic Broke, having no money
• Loaded Very wealthy, having lots of money
• Hard Up Short of money, financially struggling
• Strapped Short of money, financially tight
• Splash Out To spend money extravagantly
• Blow To spend money quickly or wastefully
• Cough Up To reluctantly pay or hand over money
• Fork Out To pay, often reluctantly or for something expensive
• Shell Out To pay out money, especially reluctantly
• Rip-off A fraudulent overcharge or swindle
• Pricey Expensive
• Steep Expensive, high-priced
• Dear Expensive (British)
• Cheap as Chips Very inexpensive, a great bargain
• Cost a Bomb Very expensive
• Cost an Arm and a Leg Extremely expensive
• Make a Killing To make a lot of money quickly
• Earn a Crust To earn a living, make money to survive
• Penny Pinching Extremely frugal, stingy with money
• Tight Stingy, unwilling to spend
• Splurge To spend money freely and extravagantly
• Broke Having no money
• Buck A dollar (American)
• Grand One thousand pounds/dollars
• Quid Pro Quo Something given in exchange for something else
• Piggy Bank A container for saving coins; personal savings
• Pay Through the Nose To pay an excessive amount
• Bread Money
• Dough Money
• skint having no money
• Daylight robbery Shamelessly excessive pricing, a rip-off
• Quids in In profit, in a favorable financial position
• Money for old rope Easy money, profit for minimal effort
• Get down to brass tacks To focus on the essential, practical details
• Not worth tuppence Worthless, of no value
• Money doesn't grow on trees Money is not unlimited; it must be earned
• Penny pincher A person who is excessively frugal or stingy
• Rolling in it Very wealthy, having lots of money
• Bread and butter Basic income or livelihood; core business
• Flush Having plenty of money (temporarily)
• Foot the bill To pay for something, especially the total cost
• Going rate The current standard price or fee
• Make ends meet To earn just enough money to cover basic expenses
• Nest egg Savings set aside for the future
• Paid peanuts Paid a very small, inadequate amount
• Pretty penny A large amount of money
• Raking it in Making a lot of money, especially quickly
• Save for a rainy day To save money for future emergencies or needs
• Tight-fisted Very unwilling to spend money, miserly
• Tighten one's belt To spend less money, economize
• Time is money Time is valuable and shouldn't be wasted
• Worth one's weight in gold Extremely valuable or useful
• Coining it Making a lot of money quickly
• Dirt cheap Extremely inexpensive
• Bank on To rely or depend on something happening
• In the red In debt, losing money
• In the black Profitable, having positive balance
• Come into money To inherit or suddenly receive money
• Bet your bottom dollar To be absolutely certain about something
• Pinch pennies To be very careful with money, to economize strictly
• Brass Money (Northern British)
• Loadsamoney Ostentatious display of wealth
• Wedge A large amount of money
• Bung A bribe or illicit payment
• Spondulicks Money, cash
• Filthy Lucre Money, especially dishonestly gained
• Flat Broke Completely without money
• Strapped for Cash Short of money
• On the House Free, paid for by the establishment
• Go Dutch Split the bill equally
• Chip In Contribute money to a shared cost
• Whip Round Collection of money from a group
• Rake It In Make a lot of money quickly
• Bailout Financial rescue
• Rainy Day Fund Emergency savings
• Breadwinner Main household earner
• Tighten Your Belt Reduce spending
• Money Pit Something that constantly drains money
• Golden Parachute Executive severance package
• Windfall Unexpected financial gain
• Slush Fund Secret fund for improper purposes
• Seed Money Initial funding for a venture
• Black Market Illegal trade
• Under the Table Payment avoiding tax/records
• Cash in Hand Untaxed cash payment
• Bottom Line Final profit/loss; essential point