Con la lezione seguente impariamo alcuni modi di dire ed espressioni collegate ai soldi.
to make ends meet
meaning: to earn and spend equal amounts of money
italiano: sbarcare il lunario, arrivare alla fine del mese
example: I have to work at two jobs to make ends meet. – Devo fare due lavori per poter sbarcare il lunario.
to cash in one’s chips
meaning: to exchange or sell something to get some money
italiano: incassare un po’ di soldi
example: I cashed in my chips and bought a Harley Davidson. – Ho incassato un po’ di soldi e ho comprato una Harley Davidson
to be strapped for cash
meaning: to have little or no money available
italiano: essere a corto di soldi
example: I can’t go on holiday this year. I’m really strapped for cash. – Non posso andare in vacanza quest’anno. Sono davvero a corto di soldi.
to give someone a blank check
meaning: to let someone act as they want or as they think is necessary
italiano: lasciare a qualcuno carta bianca (Lett: dare a quacuno un assegno vuoto)
example: The boss gave me a blank check to solve the logistics problem. – Il capo mi ha dato carta bianca per risolvere il problema logistico.
not worth a dime
meaning: to be not of any value
italiano: non valere nulla/niente (Lett: non vale un decino)
example: The vase you bought at the flea market isn’t worth a dime. – Il vaso che hai comprato al mercato delle pulci non vale nulla.
to feel like a million dollars/bucks
meaning: to feel wonderful, to feel well and healthy
italiano: sentirsi alla grande (Lett: sentirsi come un milione di dollari)
example: Just got back from my best holiday ever. I feel like a million bucks! – Sono appena tornato delle mie migliori vacanze di sempre. Mi sento alla grande!
to put in one’s two cents (worth)
meaning: to add one’s comments or opinion to a discussion
italiano: dire la propria, esprireme il proprio parere (Lett: metterci i propri due centesimi)
example: She put in her two cents and we had to realize she was right. – Lei ha detto la sua e abbiamo realizzato che aveva ragione.
the other side of the coin
meaning: a different or contradictory aspect of a situation
italiano: l’altra faccia della medaglia, dall’altro lato
example: The company exploited cheap African labour. On the other side of the coin, they also built two schools and a hospital in the area. – La compagnia ha sfruttato manodopera africana a buon mercato. Dall’altro lato hanno anche costruito due scuole e un ospedale in quella zona.
to have deep pockets
meaning: to have a lot of money
italiano: avere un sacco di soldi (Lett: avere tasche profonde)
example: The firm is not doing well. We need an investor with deep pockets. – L’azienda non sta andando bene. Ci serve un investitore che abbia un sacco di soldi.
golden handshake
meaning: a generous sum of money given to a person when they retire or leave a company
italiano: una sostanziosa liquidazione (Lett: stretta di mano dorata)
example: George got a golden handshake with his early retirement. – George ha avuto una sostanziosa liquidazione con la sua pensione anticipata.
to be hard up
meaning: to have very little money
italiano: essere al verde
example: We were so hard up that we had to sell our computer. – Eravamo così al verde che abbiamo dovuto vendere i nostri computer.
loan shark
meaning: a person who lends money at extremely high interest rates to people who can’t get a loan from the bank
italiano: strozzino (Lett: squalo dei prestiti)
example: My uncle had to flee the country because he couldn’t pay back the loan shark. – Mio zio è dovuto fuggire dal paese perché non poteva ripagare lo strozzino.
Fill in the blanks with the right idioms.
|
two cents |
golden handshake | blank check |
| the other side of the coin | to make ends meet | loan shark |
| deep pockets | worth a dime | to feel like a million dollars |
| to be hard up | to cash in one’s chips |
to be strapped for cash |
- If your grandfather didn’t have ……………….. you couldn’t afford going abroad to university.
- You look great! You must be ……………….. after a whole month off work.
- I expect a ……………….. after working 35 years for the same company.
- If you ask me, don’t take that job. But that’s just my ……………….. .
- An expert was brought in and they gave her a ……………….. to improve the production line.
- Don’t even talk to that ……………….. ! You’ll only get into trouble.
- You can’t sell that old cell phone. It’s not ……………….. .
- Sorry, mate, I can’t lend you any money. I’m really ……………….. .
- Working here is a huge responsibility, but ……………….. it’s an extremely well-paid job.
- You can’t imagine how ……………….. people in India are. Millions live in slums.
- We can’t ……………….. on one salary. I need to find a babysitter as soon as possible.
- Melanie decided to ……………….. and start a new life in Australia.
Key: 1-deep pockets 2-feeling like a million dollars 3-golden handshake 4-two cents 5-blank check 6-get into trouble 7-worth a dime 8-strapped for cash 9-on the other side of the coin 10-hard up 11-make ends meet 12-cash in her chips
