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Friday, September 9, 2011

401K, 24/7 AND OTHER IDIOMS WITH NUMBERS


In the previous text, you can see the idiom 401K in the sentence: “We have no health insurance. We have no 401K. We have no retirement fund. We have nothing after 9/11.”

What does the idiomatic expression 401K mean?
It´s a method by which the workers in a company can save money for their retirement by having an amount of money saved from their paychecks over a long period of time.

Here are other idioms with numbers in English:
all-in-one - combined, all the necessary features of something in one unit
all in one breath - spoken rapidly while one is very excited
all in one piece - safely, without damage
as busy as a one-armed paperhanger - very busy
as phony as a three-dollar Bill - phony, false, not genuine
at sixes and sevens - in a state of confusion
at the eleventh hour - at the last possible moment
back to square one - back to where one started
by the dozens - many, by a large number
catch-22 - a situation in which whatever decision is made the outcome will have negative consequences, a basically no-win situation
catch forty winks - to take a nap, to get some sleep
divide (something) fifty-fifty - to divide something into two equal parts
dressed to the nines - to be dressed in one's best clothes
feel like a million bucks/dollars - to feel great, to feel well and healthy
get the third degree - to be questioned in great detail about something
Give me five! - Hit me with your hand to show that you are happy about something.
in one ear and out the other - ignored, not listened to or not heard
in two minds about (something) - to be undecided about something
It/that makes two of us. - The same thing is true for me.
kill two birds with one stone - to achieve two objectives with one effort or action
know a trick or two - to know a special way to deal with a problem
like two peas in a pod - very close or intimate, very similar
nine times out of ten - almost always
nine-to-five job - a routine job in an office that involves standard office hours (usually 9:00 AM until 5:00 PM)
on all fours - on one's hands and knees
on cloud nine - very happy about something
once in a while - occasionally, infrequently
one at a time - individually
one for the road - one last drink (usually of alcohol) before one leaves for home
a one-night stand – a date that lasts only one night
six feet under - dead and buried
six of one and half a dozen of the other - there is little difference between two things or situations
three R's - the three basic skills in school - reading, (w)riting, (a)rithmetic
three sheets to the wind - drunk
two heads are better than one - two people working together can achieve better results than one person working alone
two-time (someone) - to cheat on one's partner by seeing someone else
two's company, three's a crowd - two people (usually a couple on a date) are happier when nobody else is around
twenty-four seven (24/7) – open all the time, twenty-four hours a day


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