Champagne taste on a beer
budget |
Someone who likes expensive things that they cannot afford
has
champagne taste on a beer budget.
Eva borrows money to buy expensive designer
clothes-
champagne taste on a beer budget! |
|
|
Cheek by jowl |
When people
are cheek by jowl, they are crammed uncomfortably
close together
"The refugees are living cheek by jowl
in a temporary camp." |
Keep
body and soul together
|
If someone is
able to keep body and soul together, they manage
to survive.
"He was unemployed and homeless, but he somehow managed
to keep body and soul together." |
| Keep up
appearances |
A person who keeps up appearances maintains an outward show of
prosperity or well-being in order to hide their difficulties from others.
"He continued to keep up appearances even when business was bad." |
| Keep up
with the Joneses |
To say that somebody is trying to keep up with the
Joneses
means that they are trying to have the same
possessions or social
achievements as someone else.
"First the
Browns moved their children to an expensive school.
Now
the Smiths have done the same. It's silly how some people
feel
they have to keep up with the Joneses!" |
| Keep
the wolf from the door |
In order to keep the wolf from the door, you need to have enough
money to buy food and other essentials.
"My grandparents earned barely enough to keep the wolf from the door." |
| Live
beyond one's means |
If someone lives beyond their means, they spend more
money than they earn or can afford.
"The cost of living was so much higher in New York that he was
soon living beyond his means." |
| Live
in clover |
Someone who lives in clover has enough money to lead a very
comfortable life.
"I dream of making an enormous amount of money and living the
rest of my life in clover!" |
|
Live from hand to
mouth |
If you live from hand to mouth, you don't have enough money
to
save. Whatever you earn is spent on food and other essentials.
"Most families in that poor area live from hand to mouth." |
|
Live high off the hog |
Someone
who lives high off the hog has a lot of money and a
very comfortable lifestyle.
"Now he's wealthy and living high off the hog." |
| Live in an ivory tower. |
A person who lives in an ivory tower has a lifestyle which
preserves them from the problems and difficulties experienced by
others.
"You're completely out of touch - it's time to come out of your ivory
tower and see what's going on!" |
| Live on the
breadline |
People who live
on the breadline have a very low income or
barely
enough money to survive.
"Due to the recent crisis, there are more people on the
breadline than
ever before." |
| Live
out of a suitcase |
Someone who lives out of a suitcase travels a lot, moving from
place to place, and is therefore restricted to the contents of their
suitcase.
"Sarah's new job involves so much travelling that she lives out of
a suitcase most of the time." |
| Live
the life of Riley |
If you live the life of Riley, you have a comfortable and
enjoyable life, without having to work too hard.
"He married a millionaire, and since then he's been living the life
of Riley." |
|
Make the best of things |
If you make the best of things, you accept the
situation and do
what you can in spite of the difficulties or
disadvantages.
"The apartment was badly located, but the rent was
low, so they
decided to make the best of things." |
|
Make ends meet |
To
make ends meet means to have enough money to live on.
"Many young people today are finding it difficult to make ends meet." |
| New lease
of life |
A person who has a new lease of life has a chance to live longer
or with greater enjoyment or satisfaction.
"Moving closer to his children has given him a new lease of life." |
|
School of hard knocks |
Someone who goes through the school of hard knocks learns
through the positive and negative experiences of life rather than
through a formal classroom education.
"He never went to college but the school of hard knocks made him
a shrewd businessman." |
|
Seamy
side of life |
This expression refers to the most unpleasant, disreputable or
sordid
aspects of life that we normally do not see (just as the
stitched seams of
clothes are generally not seen).
"Social workers really see the seamy side of life." |
|
See the error of your ways |
When someone sees the error of their ways, they
understand that
what they are doing is wrong and accept to change their behaviour.
"He talked to a counsellor who tried to make him see the
error of his
ways." |
|
On one's
uppers |
Someone who is on their uppers has very little money or
not enough
to cover their needs.
"Because he was clearly on his uppers when he was hired, he was
given an advance in salary." |
|
Weal and woe |
This expression refers to the good and bad times, joys and
sorrows,
or prosperity and misfortune.
"We all get our share of weal and woe in life." |