money down the drain
2
4.2
- idiom
- Informal
:
dinero tirado
- I don't want to throw good money down the drain and would rather wait for Dalep to get his hands on it and pay him.
- pouring money down the drain
- throwing money down the drain
It's in, in somebody's opinion, it's money down the drain.
- It's in, in somebody's opinion, it's money down the drain.
- OK, Let's talk about throwing money down the drain.
Examples
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Why throw good money down the drain?
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I'm not about to throw money down the drain on another one of your hobbies.
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Ah, money down the drain, if you ask me.
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All that money down the drain and no helpful effects.
Blog text (14) -
And it's washing money down the drain that could be better spent elsewhere.
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I trust it won't be money down the drain.
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Don't change or improve anything, just throw money down the drain.
Blog text (24) -
Interesting at first, but then again, this is just flushing money down the drain for outdated technology.
Blog text (9) -
Rather than throw money down the drain for cable TV, I send a few dollars per month to a few selected blogs and news gatherers.
Blog text (13) -
Investing in a failing business is often just throwing money down the drain.
Synonyms
695
2.1
Money lost by a business or person
28
3.0
An amount of money spent without getting a useful result
Antonyms
How Wasteful
- Literature
1
4.3
- Informal
2
4.2
1
3.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase maps a simple spatial image onto an abstract loss: if money goes 'down the drain' it is being carried away and irretrievably lost. The constituents 'money', 'down' (movement away/awaywards) and 'drain' (a channel that disposes of liquid) combine transparently to convey waste, and similar metaphors exist in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows the words can reasonably infer the meaning.
Etymology
Money down the drain comes from the clear picture of money falling down into a drain or sink and disappearing where you cannot get it back. So it means 'money wasted' or 'money lost'.