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Glite Dictionary
to throw good money after bad

to throw good money after bad

3 7.5
To keep spending money on something that is already failing
  • idiom
translation icon : tirar dinero bueno tras malo
  • But they at least then stop throwing good money after bad and learn a valuable lesson.
  • continue throwing good money after bad
  • just throwing good money after bad

I don't want to throw, you know, good money after bad and just take it off my hands.

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Examples

  • Besides, if housing prices continue to slide, you could be throwing good money after bad.

    Blog text (32)

  • This is a classic case of throwing good money after bad.

    Lucky You (2007)

  • I mean, continue to throw good money after bad?

    Blog text (2)

  • There is no question we are throwing good money after bad.

    Blog text (10)

  • - I refuse to throw good money after bad.

    Super Fly T.N.T. (1973)

  • - Don't throw good money after bad.

    The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)

  • They are not willing to throw good money after bad.

    Blog text (31)

  • For some folks, the best way to figure out that SBI is the right option for them is to waste a year or two throwing good money after bad and not getting anywhere.

    Blog text (6)

  • On the other hand, if a company struggles to earn decent returns, investing additional expensive capital into a low-return business is much like throwing good money after bad.

    Blog text (9)

  • Many businesses fail because owners continue to throw good money after bad instead of cutting their losses.

Synonyms

to throw money away
vsto throw good money after bad
4 3.5

Spend money on things you do not need

keeps investing in a failing venture increasing losses instead of recovering them

Antonyms

to abandon
401 3.8

Stop supporting an idea or plan

How Wasteful

money down the drain
  • Informal
2 4.2
to waste
∞ 1.0
to throw good money after bad
3 7.5
to spend
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

throw good money after bad infinitive
throwing good money after bad present participle
throws good money after bad third person singular
threw good money after bad past
thrown good money after bad past participle

Morphology

throw + good + money + after + bad

The literal parts (throw, good, money, after, bad) suggest wasting or sending money following something bad, so learners can guess it relates to spending money unwisely. However the precise sense — continuing to invest in a failing venture/increasing losses — depends on an idiomatic restructuring (e.g. 'bad' used as a nominalized earlier loss) and pragmatic financial knowledge, so the meaning is not fully predictable from the words alone.

Etymology

Throw good money after bad gives a simple picture: imagine you lose some coins in a river and then throw more good money after the lost bad coins. So, it means to keep spending on something that is 'failing' and only make your losses bigger.