Skip to content

More games from us

Work and money idioms: Phrazle Work & Money

Every phrase in this category is about earning, spending, saving or working. Six guesses, endless puzzles.

Share

Idioms about work and money

This category brings together phrases about earning, spending and saving, and about jobs, bosses, trade and hard work. Coins, pennies, dollars and pounds appear in them, along with tools, markets, shops, ledgers and the daily routine of the workplace. Many of them are small pieces of advice: save a little, do not waste, think before you spend.

Work and money idioms are common because nearly everyone has had to earn a living, and the lessons are the same in every century. Farmers, craftsmen and shopkeepers passed their experience on in short, memorable sayings, and later the office and the factory added new ones. A phrase about a foolish spender or a hen's nest explains a business lesson faster than any textbook.

Every puzzle on this page is a work or money phrase. Words such as WORK, JOB, MONEY, PAY, CASH and PENNY are good letters to try first.

Work and money idioms and what they mean

None of these examples is used as a puzzle, so reading them will not spoil a game.

  • Put your money where your mouth is: back up your words with action or with your own money. It is an American saying from the first half of the 1900s, when it meant backing a boast with a bet.
  • A fool and his money are soon parted: careless people lose their money quickly. It has been an English proverb since the 1500s.
  • Nest egg: money saved for the future. Farmers left a real or a china egg in a hen's nest to encourage her to lay more there.
  • Penny-pincher: a person who spends as little as possible, even when spending would make sense.
  • Workaholic: someone who cannot stop working. The word appeared in the late 1960s, modeled on "alcoholic".
  • Windfall: money or luck that you did not expect. It first meant fruit blown down by the wind, which anyone could gather.
  • Freelance: working for several clients instead of one employer. The writer Walter Scott used "free lance" in his 1819 novel Ivanhoe for a knight who fought for whoever paid him.
  • Moonlighting: working a second job, usually in secret and in the evening. The picture is of work done by the light of the moon, after the regular working day.

Work and money idioms FAQ

Why is this category called Work & Money?

Because most of its phrases are about earning, spending, saving and working, rather than about big business. You will find advice about pennies and paychecks here, not company news.

Is it free to play the category puzzles?

Yes. Every category, like every other mode on Phrazle, is free, with no account and nothing to buy. The site is paid for by the ads shown around the game.

Does this category have its own statistics?

Yes. Every category keeps its own games played, win percentage, streak and guess distribution. Playing here never changes your Daily statistics or your Daily streak.