Practice English Vocabulary Exercises – Vocabulary for Banking and Finance: Financial idioms and expressions

A. For each sentence, decide whether the people being described are rich or poor.

1   We’ll have to tighten their belts.    RICH / POOR

2   He’s raking it in at the moment.    RICH / POOR

3   They’re very hard up.    RICH / POOR

4   He’s finding it hard to make ends meet.    RICH / POOR

5   She’s absolutely loaded.    RICH / POOR

6   They’re a lot better off than most.    RICH / POOR

7   She’s rolling in money.    RICH / POOR

8   He’s fallen on hard times.    RICH / POOR

9   They’ve got money to burn.    RICH / POOR

10   She seems very down at heel.    RICH / POOR

11   We’re totally broke.    RICH / POOR

12   They don’t have two pennies to rub together.    RICH / POOR

Most of these expressions can also be used to describe businesses. For example, “EnTex have fallen on hard times”.

B. In each sentence, has the share price gone up, down or both?

1   Since the merger was announced, the share price has gone crazy.    UP / DOWN

2   Following the news, the share price has gone through the roof.    UP / DOWN

3   As a result of the strike, the share price has gone through the floor.    UP / DOWN

4   We believe the share price has hit rock bottom.    UP / DOWN

5   The share price has been going up and down like a yo-yo.    UP / DOWN

6   A lot of investors have lost their nerve.    UP / DOWN

7   News of the takeover bid has caused a lot of investors to get cold feet.    UP / DOWN

8   Investors are queuing up to buy shares.    UP / DOWN

9   Shares in the new company have been changing hands for silly prices.    UP / DOWN

10   Those shares? You can’t give them away.    UP / DOWN

11   The collapse EnTek has had a knock-on effect on our share price.    UP / DOWN

12   After two years of bad news, the share price has finally rallied.    UP / DOWN

C. Choose the best words to go into each space.

1   “In the red” means your bank account is overdrawn. “In the …………………” means your account is in credit.

        a   blue       

        b   black       

        c   green

2   They’re a very rich company. $10,000 is just ………………… to them.

        a   small money       

        b   coins       

        c   loose change

3   At the moment plasma-screen TVs are a ………………… on the market. Everybody who wanted one has now got one.

        a   glut       

        b   surplus       

        c   excess

4   Suppliers have been ………………… the market with cheap MP3 players.

        a   filling       

        b   flooding       

        c   dumping

5   The market for holiday apartment rentals is now …………………

        a   over-full       

        b   too many       

        c   saturated

6   The new computer game console has been a huge hit. Just before Christmas, you couldn’t get one for …………………

        a   gold       

        b   diamonds       

        c   love nor money

7   The publishers of School for Wizards have ………………… the book’s success, and have negotiated a series of lucrative merchandising deals.

        a   maximised cash with       

        b   cashed in on       

        c   cashed up

8    Following the success of Banco Credito’s internet share-trading service, a lot of other banks have jumped ………………… and launched similar services.

        a   on the bandwagon      

        b   into the sea       

        c   onto the table

9    In those days, you could buy a house for £50,000 and let it out for £800 a month. It was a licence to …………………

        a   make money       

        b   mint money       

        c   print money

10    If we want a new photocopier, we’ll have to ask the Resources Manager. She …………………

        a   holds the purse strings       

        b   guards the money       

        c   opens the purse

11    It doesn’t matter how much we spend on designing the front cover. Money is …………………

        a   no limit       

        b   no object       

        c   no maximum

12    A large payment to somebody when they leave a job is called a …………………

        a   golden goodbye       

        b   golden hand       

        c   golden handshake

13    I get an accountant to fill in my tax return for me. I don’t have a very good ………………… for figures.

        a   mind       

        b   brain       

        c   head

14    Do I have any savings? yes, I’ve got a little put by for a …………………

        a   rainy day       

        b   bad day       

        c   hard time