money pit
6
7.3
- noun
- /ˈmʌni pɪt/
- Informal
:
pozo sin fondo
- She's very vocal about her ideas and can clearly state why MLMs are dangerous money pits.
- a bottomless money pit
- turn into a money pit
Massive output of expenses, massive money pits, right?
- Massive output of expenses, massive money pits, right?
Examples
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I am sinking fast into the money pit, and I don't want to drag you down with me.
-
And I fear that if people continue to dismiss college as a money pit with little value, a trade school approach will trump what could be four years of exploring history, philosophy, consciousness, and society.
Blog text (15) -
Turned out to be a real money pit.
-
You know this place is a money pit.
-
Ever heard of the money pit?
Blog text (12) -
That one was a money pit from the beginning.
Fiction book (1998) -
The town doesn't want to own the property either because it's a money pit.
Blog text (2) -
Farmer Brown said it's like a bottomless money pit in there.
-
Many residents of sprawling suburbs spend more on their cars than their houses, and those of us living closer in can ditch that money pit of a car and spend more on housing instead.
Blog text (1) -
Two years ago, the newlyweds bought a 90-year-old house that quickly turned into a money pit.
Synonyms
3
6.3
A situation that always needs more money or help
How Costly
17
5.5
- Informal
6
7.3
- Informal
1
6.1
- Informal
2
4.2
1
3.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning — something that continually 'swallows' or consumes large amounts of money — is inferable from 'money' plus the metaphorical sense of 'pit' as a hole that swallows or traps; this mapping is fairly accessible. However, the sense is a metaphorical extension rather than strictly compositional, so a B1 learner may only partially predict the exact nuance without prior exposure.
Etymology
Money pit comes from the image of a deep hole where you keep throwing money and it is swallowed by the pit. That's why it now means 'a property or thing that always needs repairs and keeps costing a lot of money'.