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Now, the VOA Special
English program "Words
and their stories". |
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Most people enjoy
working for several
reasons – their
job might be fun, or
they like their
employer and the other
people at work.
Most people I know,
however, work for the
money. I do not
know anyone who is "loaded"
– or extremely rich. |
be loaded with money: tener dinero para dar y regalar, estar podrido de dinero, tener dinero para empapelar, tener dinero a punta pala; |
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Most of my friends
work to earn
enough money to live.
They have to "make
ends meet" –
they have to earn
enough money to
pay for the things they
need. Some even
live "from
hand to mouth" –
they only have
enough money for the
most important
things. |
make (both) ends meet: llegar a final de mes, subsistir a duras penas (literalmente: unir ambos extremos del mes); from hand to mouth: necesidad, apuro económico, gastar todo el salario en necesidades de sustento (literalmente: de la mano a la boca); |
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They struggle to
earn enough money to "bring
home the bacon" – it
can be difficult to
earn enough money
for a family to survive.
Sometimes, poor
people even "get
caught short" –
they do not have
enough money to
pay for what they
need. |
bring home the bacon: mantener a la familia, traer el pan a casa, ganarse el pan (literalmente: ganarse las habichuelas, ganarse los garbanzos, ganarse las lentejas, traer el tocino a casa); get caught short: se quedan cortos de dinero; |
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Or
they have to spend
or "lay out"
more money than
they want for
something. When this happens,
poor people have
to "tighten
their belts" and
live on less money
than usual. I hate
when I have to
live on less money. It
takes me longer
to get "back
on my feet" – or
return to good
financial health. |
lay out: gastar (dinero); tighten their belts: controlar los gastos (literal: ajustarse o apretarse los cinturones); back on my feet: salir a flote, salir adelante (financieramente); |
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However, other
people are "on the
gravy train" –
they get paid
more money than
their job is worth.
These people "make
a bundle" – they
really "rake
in the cash". In fact,
they make so
much money that
they can "live
high off the hog" –
they own the best
of everything and live in
great ease.
Sometimes they "pay
an arm and a leg" for
something. |
to be on the gravy train: subirse al tren (de la abundancia), aprovechar una oportunidad pasajera, sacar provecho del chollo (gravy: literalmente, dinero fácil); make a bundle: ganar un pastón, obtener mucho dinero (bundle: literalmente, fardo); rake in the cash: ganar en abundancia (literalmente, hacer pasta a punta pala, juntar el dinero con un rastrillo); live live high off the hog: darse la gran vida, vivir muy bien (literalmente, vivir por encima de los cerdos o marranos); pay an arm and a leg: pagar un ojo de la cara, pagar el oro y el moro, pagar un dineral (literalmente, pagar un brazo y una pierna); |
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Because "money
is no object" to wealthy
people, they will
pay high prices for
whatever they want.
Sometimes, they
even "pay
through the nose" –
they pay too
much for things.
I am not
rich. I did not "make
a killing" in the stock
market when my
stocks increased in
value. |
money is no object: el dinero no es problema, el precio es lo de menos; pay through the nose: pagar demasiado, pagar un precio exorbitante (literalmente, expresa ser llevado de la nariz (nose) para comprar compulsivamente); make a killing: hacer un gran negocio, forrarse; |
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Yet, I am not poor
either. When I go out
with friends, I do
not want to "shell
out" – or pay a lot of
money. Often, my
friends and I will "chip
in" – or pay jointly for a
fun night out.
When we go to restaurants, the
meal is "Dutch
treat" – each
person pays his
or her own share. |
shell out: desembolsar dinero, soltar la pasta de la billetera (literalmente, shell out significa pelar, quitar la cáscara de un fruto seco); chip in: recolectar dinero para hacer un gasto en conjunto, hacer una vaca (literalmente, en el póquer colocar las fichas (chips) de cada uno sobre la mesa); Dutch treat: convite a escote, convite a la inglesa (cada uno paga lo que consume); |
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Once, the owner of a
restaurant gave us a
dinner "on the
house" – we did not
have to pay for
our meals. However, I
admit that we had to "grease
someone’s palm" – we had to pay
money to the employee
who led us to our
table. The money was for a
special request. Yes, it was a "buy-off"
– the employee put us at the
top of the list for a
table instead of
making us wait like
everyone else. We had a
great time that
night and the meal did not
"set
me back" at
all – I did not have to
pay anything. |
on the house: por cuenta de la casa, la casa invita, pagado por el dueño; grease someone’s palm: sobornar, coimear (literalmente, untar la mano de alguien); buy-off: soborno, coima; did not set me back: no me costó; |
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Because of that experience, I will
always remember that
nice things still
happen in a world that is "driven
by money". But, that is "just
my two cents
worth" – it is just
my opinion. |
is driven by money: tiene avidez por el dinero, está gobernado por el dinero; that is just my two cents worth: eso es lo que yo pienso, es mi opinión, es mi parecer, es lo que a mí me parece. |
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"Words and their
stories", in VOA Special English,
was written by Jill
Moss. I’m Faith
Lapidus. |
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