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Work & Money - Poverty & Financial Issues

Explore English idioms that relate to poverty and financial issues, including "feel the pinch" and "the breadline".

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English idioms related to Work & Money
to catch (a) cold

to face problems and difficulties, particularly financial ones

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Definition & Meaning of \"to [catch] (a|) cold\"
to go to the wall

to suffer ruin, failure, or defeat, due to financial difficulties, and without the possibility of recovery or rescue

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Definition & Meaning of \"to [go] to the wall\"
to lose one's shirt

to lose a big sum of money, often due to a risky bet or investment

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Definition & Meaning of \"to [lose] {one's} shirt\"
in the red

in debt due to spending more than one's earnings

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Definition & Meaning of \"(in|into) the red\"
on one's uppers

in an extremely bad financial condition

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Definition & Meaning of \"on {one's} uppers\"
to live (from) hand to mouth

to survive with only the bare minimum resources, often with no savings or financial security

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Definition & Meaning of \"to [live] (from|) hand to mouth\"
(as) poor as a church mouse

severely lacking money

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Definition & Meaning of \"(as|) poor as a church [mouse]\"
(as) poor as Job

extremely lacking money

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Definition & Meaning of \"(as|) poor as Job\"
to not have a bean

to not have any money

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Definition & Meaning of \"to {not} [have] a bean\"
on the road

(of people) without any home or shelter, therefore constantly moving from one location to another

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Definition & Meaning of \"on the road\"
the breadline

the income level below which a person is considered to be living in poverty or experiencing financial hardship

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Definition & Meaning of \"the breadline\"
out at (the) elbows

used to refer to someone who does not have enough money and is considered poor by the society's standards

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Definition & Meaning of \"out at (the|) elbows\"
to feel the pinch

to face financial difficulties, particularly due to not having the same income as before

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Definition & Meaning of \"to [feel] the pinch\"
number out of pocket

used to say that an amount of money was lost due to a transaction

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Definition & Meaning of \"{num} out of pocket\"
dry spell

a period that is lacking productivity, profit, success, etc.

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Definition & Meaning of \"dry spell\"
dirt poor

affected by poverty to an extreme degree

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Definition & Meaning of \"dirt poor\"
to wipe the slate clean

to forgive and forget someone's debt, enabling them to start fresh without any financial obligations

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Definition & Meaning of \"to [wipe] the slate clean\"
to go out of business

to cease to exist as a functional company or business due to financial challenges or difficulties

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Definition & Meaning of \"to [go] out of business\"
on a shoestring

with a minimal amount of financial resources

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Definition & Meaning of \"on a shoestring\"
flat broke

lacking any money or financial resources

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Definition & Meaning of \"flat broke\"
a pot to piss in

very little or no money

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Definition & Meaning of \"a pot to piss in\"
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