Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to scream new money

to scream new money

9.1
To show you have recently become rich in a loud, flashy way
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : gritar riqueza nueva
  • Her designer clothes and oversized jewelry absolutely scream new money at every event she attends.

Examples

  • The gold-plated sports car outside his house really screams new money.

  • Everything about this lavish mansion screams new money rather than understated elegance.

  • He screams new money with his flashy car and designer clothes.

  • Look at her; she screamed new money at the gala!

  • Everything about this lavish mansion screams new money rather than understated elegance.

  • Her designer clothes and oversized jewelry absolutely scream new money at every event she attends.

  • The gold-plated sports car outside his house really screams new money.

Antonyms

to understate
18 5.2

To make something seem smaller or less important than it really is

How Flashy

to scream new money
  • Informal
9.1
to flaunt
62 5.7
to show off
  • Informal
216 3.2
display
196 2.2

Surface Forms

scream new money infinitive
screamed new money past
screamed new money past participle
screaming new money present participle
screams new money third person singular

Morphology

scream + new + money

The verb 'scream' is used metaphorically here to mean 'to advertise or conspicuously signal', combined with 'new money' (recently acquired wealth). A B1 learner who knows the literal meanings might guess that something loudly indicates recent wealth, but the figurative use of 'scream' is non-literal and requires exposure, so the relation is only partly predictable.

Etymology

Scream new money comes from the image of scream as a loud shout and new money meaning people who are 'recently rich'. That's why something very shiny or loud in style seems to scream new money, meaning 'to show off'.