Idioms and expressions

68. on a shoestring

69. on the cuff

70. on the rocks

71. to pass the hat

72. to pay through the nose

73. penny-wise and pound-foolish

74. real McCoy

75. to tighten one’s belt

76. top drawer

77. Beggars can’t be choosers

78. chicken feed

79. to cost an arm and a leg

80. a dime a dozen

81. a drop in the bucket

82. fly-by night

83. highway robbery

Proverbs and sayings

84. Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.

85. Don’t take any wooden nickels.

86. Don’t buy a pig in a poke.

87. Money makes the mare go.

88. The customer is always right.

89. Everything is good in its season.

90. All is not gold that glitters.

91. Take care of the pence and the pounds will take care of themselves.

Culture words

Garage sale, boot sale, cent store, dime, quarter, C&A, Marks&Spencer, “Apple barn”, Wal Mart, the High Street, Portobello Road, Oxford Street, Sales Tax (VAT), Harrods, Debenhams, John Lewis, Macy’s, Bloomingdales, Marshal Field, Selfridges

Vocabulary work

Exercise 1.

Write down the English equivalents for the following Russian words and word combinations.

Платить кредитной карточкой; получить скидку; банка Кока-колы; магазин фарфора; парфюмерный магазин; магазин спиртных напитков; кочан капусты; плитка шоколада; овощной магазин; цветочный магазин; торговый центр; отдел бытовой электроники; ювелирный; сезонная распродажа; штрих-код; время работы магазина; этикетка; бракованные товары; пункт обмена валюты; завернуть покупку; быть не в моде; быть большего размера; быть малым; коробка конфет; подходить по цвету; подходить по размеру; сочетаться с чем-то по стилю.

Exercise 2.

Study the following examples illustrating the proper use of idioms and expressions. Render the sentences into Russian paying special attention to the translation of the italicized phrases.

1. They tried to start a school band on a shoestring.

2. Cosmo couldn’t pay his bill, so he asked the owner to put it on the cuff.

3. I need a loan because my dog-walking business is on the rocks.

4. I need money for amusement park. I may just have to pass the hat.

5. In the restaurant, you’ll pay through the nose for a meal.

6. That was penny-wise and pound-foolish. You saved a dollar in car fare when you walked all the way home, but now you need new sneakers.

7. That is a fake antique. This one’s the real McCoy.

8. Sonny’s boss won’t give him a pay raise but his rent went up. Now he has to tighten his belt.

9. Aunt Shirley always takes the family out to some top-drawer restaurant.

10. Beggars can’t be choosers. If you don’t have any money to go out for pizza, you’ll have to eat in the cafeteria.

11. Mr. Bear loves his job at the museum, even though they pay only chicken feed.

12. It cost an arm and a leg to go to Hawaii, but Mr. Wong really needed the vacation.

13. Anthony thought his old Hardy Boys books were rare, but they were a dime a dozen.

14. I spent the money I planned to earn and then the job was canceled. I shouldn’t have counted my chickens before they hatched.

15. Have a good trip to Chicago, and don’t take any wooden nickels.

16. I’ve saved all month for a skateboard, but I still have only a drop in the bucket.

17. The store where I bought that defective CD-player was a fly-by-night operation.

18. Two hundred dollars for one night in a hotel? That’s highway robbery.