In this mini episode, you will learn two interesting expressions about money.
Episode 308 of the Everybody ESL podcast is a mini episode that teaches you two interesting expressions about money. Send your questions about English and your suggestions to EverybodyESL@gmail.com! (And let me know if you’d like to record the introduction to a future episode.)
Intro
“Hi! This is Farah Namira from Indonesia, and you are listening to Everybody ESL.”
Welcome to episode 308 of Everybody ESL, the podcast for everybody who wants to improve their English, practice their English, or just learn more English. My name is Ben, and I have a mini episode for you today, where I am going to teach you about one English topic. You can subscribe to the Everybody ESL podcast at Apple podcasts, on the Stitcher app, and wherever you find your podcasts. If you like Everybody ESL, leave it a good review so other people can find out about it too. And if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for me, please send an email to EverybodyESL@gmail.com. Okay! Let’s get on with this mini episode.
The episode
In this episode, I am going to teach you two interesting expressions about money.
The first one is “to cost an arm and a leg.” To cost an arm and a leg. That’s cost—c-o-s-t, an, arm—a-r-m, and, a, leg—l-e-g. To cost an arm and a leg. If something costs an arm and a leg, that means it costs a lot of money. The price is very, very high. What you are saying when you say that something costs an arm and a leg is that the price is so high. It is like having to spend—or give—one of your arms and one of your legs. That is a very high price.
This is the kind of situation where you might hear someone use this expression:
Imagine that somebody is interested in buying a motorcycle. He goes to the dealer—the store that sells motorcycles—and he discovers that the price is much higher than he thought. The price is much higher than he can pay. He cannot afford to buy a motorcycle. And he says to you, “No, I didn’t buy a motorcycle. They cost an arm and a legI” They cost an arm and a leg. In other words, “The price is very high. It would be like spending or giving one of my arms and one of my legs. That’s too high a price, so I cannot buy a motorcycle.”
The other expression that I’m going to tell you about also involves part of your body. It does not involve an arm and a leg. Instead, it involves your nose. The expression is “to pay through the nose.” To pay through the nose. That’s pay—p-a-y, through—t-h-r-o-u-g-h, the, nose—n-o-s-e. To pay through the nose. And what does it mean when we say that we are paying through the nose? It means that we are paying a price that is much too high. We are paying a price that seems unfairly high. It’s too much. It’s not right. The price is really just too high.
Here is an example of a situation where somebody might use the phrase “pay through the nose.”
“We wanted to rent an apartment next to the park, but you have to pay through the nose.” In other words, “We wanted to rent an apartment next to the park, but those apartments are too expensive. The rent is much too high. If you want to rent one of those apartments, you must pay through the nose. You must pay a price that is just too high.”
“To cost an arm and a leg” and “to pay through the nose.” Two similar expressions about money that I think you should know.
Outro
This is the end of episode 308 of Everybody ESL. Remember: if you have questions about English, or if you have suggestions for me, or if you would like to record an introduction that I can play at the beginning of future episodes—the same way Farah recorded the introduction you heard at the beginning of this episode—send an email to EverybodyESL@gmail.com. I’ll be back soon with a new episode. And until then, keep going, keep practicing, and keep learning. I’ll see you soon. Goodbye!