up in the bucks這個詞組有“富有的;有錢的”的意思,我希望自己很富有,可以說是“I wish that I am up in the bucks.”,也有口語說“他手頭上有錢(尤指有很多錢)”則可以說 He’s in the bucks.
另外buck作動詞時有反抗、抵制、與...作鬥爭等意思,如:我們必須要和厄運作鬥爭,可以說 We have to buck against bad luck.
因為美元鈔票的背面是綠色的,所以美元也通常被美國人稱為 greenback(greenbacks). I wish I could make a lot of greenbacks。
I don’t have much dough. 這句話的意思是“我沒有很多錢”,本來Dough是生面團的意思,但它可以用來表示金錢。 他努力工作掙錢可以說 He worked hard for his dough.
另外bread也可以引申出錢的意思,如“It’s tough to make bread.”指的是養家糊口不容易啊。
Papermoney 並不是我們用來祭祀祖先的紙錢(funeral money),而是指我們現在逐漸被拋棄的現金紙幣,紙幣還可以用 Paper Currency、Banknotes、Bank Paper、Currency Notes 這些詞。現金硬幣則是 hard money 或 metal money,metal money 取其字面意思就是金屬制造的硬幣
(關於硬幣 metal money:有 cent 指面值為10美分的硬幣;nickel 指面值為5美分的硬幣;dime 指面值為10美分的硬幣;quarter 指面值為25美分的硬幣;half dollar 指面值為50美分的硬幣;dollar 指面值為1美元的硬幣。) 壹般會把3.5美元說成 Three point five dollars 或者是 Three dollars and fifty cents.
在國外買東西時,不像中國可以掃碼支付,老外們要麽是現金支付,要麽是刷卡或者支票支付。當在超市時,最常聽見收銀員(cashier)說的是“Are you paying in cash or card?”。那麽Plastic money是什麽呢?
Plastic money指的是銀行卡,英語口語中人們把bank card(銀行卡)簡稱為card,而銀行卡有很多種類,如debit card(借記卡)和credit card(信用卡)最為常見,由於銀行卡是用塑膠做的,所以老外們在日常對話中壹般會把銀行卡簡稱為Plastic,如要問收銀員買單時可否刷卡,可以說Do you take plastic? 意為妳們可以刷卡嗎?
“You should carry some cash with you at all times, don’t always depend on your plastic.”就是說妳應該要帶些現金在身上,不要總依賴於壹張銀行卡。
Easy money 字面意思是容易賺來的錢,但是人們把 easy money 引申意思為不義之財。比如“如果我是妳的話,我就會努力學習,而不會拿太多時間去思考如何獲取那些不義之財”,可以說成 If I were you, I’d study hard and not take a lot of time to figuring out how to make easy money.
“賺快錢的想法讓很多人進入毒品交易的陷阱”可以說成:The thought of making easy money draws many people to drug dealing.
另外,easy money在美國口語中也有低利息貸款的意思,easy在商務英語中有表示利息利率低的意思。
Mad money 可不是錢生氣了。Mad money 是指女子隨身攜帶的零用錢或者應急備用的錢。在從前,年輕女子跟男朋友出去玩的時候自己身上藏的壹點錢,萬壹跟男朋友吵架了,生氣了,那她也至少自己有錢叫出租車回家。也可以說是零用錢、零花錢,如“This is my mad money, I’ll do with it as I please.”意思是我的零花錢,我想怎麽花就怎麽花。不過現在 Mad money 的用法擴大了很多,更多是指備用的錢,可以在緊急關頭使用,如:
“The other day we ran out of gas sixty miles from home. I had forgotten my wallet. But we were lucky, my wife remembered she had her mad money, so we were able to buy gas to get back home.” 這裏說的 mad money 就是指為緊急時而備的現金,wallet壹般指男士錢包,而purse指女士錢包。
Smart 有聰明、伶俐、漂亮的意思,還可以解釋為漂亮、厲害,如贊美朋友穿上新衣服很好看,可以用 You look smart in this new suit. 而 Smart money 很難從字面上看出它的意思, Smart money 是指那些有經驗的投資商或者善於賭博的人經管投資的錢。有時候smart money也可以直接指代這些人。如下面兩個例子:
下面是壹個人對朋友聊經商的前景:“Do you think the economy is heading up or down? The smart money seems to think that business will get better so maybe it’s time to put some money into the stock market.”
有個退休的老人聊到自己的經歷時說到:“In the past, interest from my bank account was a good source of income to have after I retire. But interest rates are so low these days that I have to let those smart money people who handle mutual funds take care of my money.” 他說,在過去,從銀行存款得到的利息是他退休後很好的壹筆收入。但是,現在利率很低,他不得不讓那些管理資金的專業人士來經管他的錢。interest 有利益,利息的意思,interest rates 是指利率。
Red money是近年來興起的詞組,我們春節過新年得到的紅包叫Red envelope (with Lucky money inside) 或Red pocket。而Red money是指人民幣,而且通常特指紅色的百元鈔票。
1. Money talks 金錢萬能
2. (Right) on the money 恰到好處;完全正確;(錢)剛好夠的
例:You were right on the money when you said that I would really like that book.
妳說過我會很喜歡那本書,還真被妳說中了。
3. Fork some money out ( for something )為某物付出錢財(或許是不情願的)
例:Forking out lots of money for taxes is part of life.
上繳壹大筆的稅款是生活的壹部分。
4. For my money, 寫作中常表示“依我看,我認為”,與In my opinion(view)用法相當。