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Glite Dictionary
to pissing money up the wall

to pissing money up the wall

9.9
To spend money carelessly and waste it
  • idiom
  • Offensive
translation icon : tirar el dinero por la ventana
  • She realized she'd been pissing money up the wall on new clothes every month.

Examples

  • They accused the government of pissing money up the wall with inefficient programs.

  • Stop pissing money up the wall on useless gadgets!

  • If you buy that expensive gadget, you're just pissing money up the wall.

  • He's just pissing money up the wall with those bad investments.

  • If you buy that expensive gadget, you're just pissing money up the wall.

  • She realized she'd been pissing money up the wall on new clothes every month.

  • Stop pissing money up the wall on useless gadgets!

Synonyms

to waste
vsto pissing money up the wall
∞ 1.0

To use or spend something carelessly and without good reason

is specifically about spending money carelessly without benefit
to blow
vsto pissing money up the wall
  • Informal
265 5.3

To waste a lot of money on things you do not need

applies specifically to spending money without benefit here
to squander
vsto pissing money up the wall
67 6.5

To use money, time, or chances in a foolish way

is about careless spending without stressing recklessness
to piss away
vsto pissing money up the wall
  • Offensive
8 9.5

To waste time or money by being careless

is focused on spending without benefit or sensible outcome
to throw money away
vsto pissing money up the wall
4 3.5

Spend money on things you do not need

is about wasting by careless spending without sensible outcome
to fritter away
vsto pissing money up the wall
4 6.0

Waste time or money on small unimportant things

is about careless spending overall, not just small gradual losses
to misspend
vsto pissing money up the wall
1 6.5

To spend time or money in a wasteful way

is centered on wasting money without benefit or sensible result
to blow savings
vsto pissing money up the wall
  • Informal
1 6.9

To spend saved money quickly on things you do not need

focuses on wasting money without sensible outcome rather than savings only
to blow one's wad
vsto pissing money up the wall
  • Informal
9.9

To spend all your money at once

is wasteful generally, not limited to spending everything at once
to fool away
vsto pissing money up the wall
8.1

To waste time, money, or chances by being careless

focuses on spending without benefit rather than general foolishness
to pour down the drain
vsto pissing money up the wall
  • Informal
6.0

Lose money, time, or effort by wasting it so it cannot be used

describes careless spending that may not stress irrecoverable loss

Antonyms

frugalness
6.8

Careful use of money and things to avoid waste

How Wasteful

to pissing money up the wall
  • Offensive
9.9
to blow savings
  • Informal
1 6.9
to squander
67 6.5
to waste
∞ 1.0
splurge
  • Informal
8 6.9

Surface Forms

pissing money up the wall infinitive

Morphology

pissing + money + up + the + wall

The literal meanings ('pissing' = urinating, 'money', 'up the wall' = against a wall) do not straightforwardly yield 'waste money' and the expression relies on a coarse metaphorical use of 'piss' meaning 'to squander', so a B1 learner who only knows the constituents would probably not reliably infer the intended sense. However, because the verb is used metaphorically to mean wasting (cf. 'piss away') and similar imagery for wasting money exists cross-linguistically, the relation is partially recoverable, making it somewhat predictable but not fully transparent.

Etymology

The idiom pissing money up the wall gives a shocking, easy picture: someone is literally pissing on money so it splashes up a wall and is lost. That's why the phrase means 'to waste money' by spending it carelessly.