ESL Podcast 506 - Being Generous and Stingy

to hit (someone) up - to ask someone for money; to ask someone to give you something for free

Billy hit up all the neighbors, asking them to donate money for his baseball team.

to spot (someone) - to make a loan to someone; to give money to someone for a short period of time, expecting that person to pay one back

Can you spot me $20? I'll pay you back next week.

pipe dream - something that one would like to have happen, but is impossible or extremely unlikely

He wants to be a millionaire by the time he's 30, but it's just a pipe dream.

cheapskate - a penny-pincher; a person who spends as little money as possible, preferring to save everything; a person who won't give money away to help other people

Mariah is such a cheapskate! She won't buy new clothes for her children even when their clothes have holes in them!

generosity - one's willingness to give money, time, and other things to help other people

The children showed a lot of generosity when they collected money to help pay for their classmate's medical bills.

to be rolling in it - to have a lot of money; to be very rich

They've been rolling in it ever since they won the lottery.

to part with - to give something away or sell something; to be separated from something that one owns, especially when one would rather keep it

I'd have to be pretty desperate for money before I'd consider parting with my guitar.

without giving it a second thought - without worrying about something; without spending time thinking about something

Phil writes thousand-dollar checks without giving it a second thought.

to have [got] (one's) work cut out for you - with a lot of work to do; having a lot of things that one needs to do, with a difficult project or task

You've got your work cut out for you, trying to raise three children as a single parent.

penny-pincher - a cheapskate; a person who spends as little money as possible, preferring to save everything; a person who won't give money away to help other people

Jin is a penny-pincher who uses coupons, hangs wet clothes outside to dry, and never buys anything new.

stingy - not generous; not liking to share things, especially money; not liking to spend money

It seems like people become stingier when the economy is bad.

big-hearted - generous; always wanting to help other people

Krzystof is very big-hearted, often opening his home to people who need a place to stay, even if he doesn't know them very well.

charitable - generous; sharing money, goods, and time with people and organizations that need it

The Richardsons are very charitable, always donating 10% of the money they make to local organizations.

what the heck - an expression meaning that one will do something, even though one doesn't really want to or probably shouldn't, because another person wants one to do it

I'm supposed to be on a diet, but what the heck. Sure, I'll help you eat your birthday cake.

to tide (one) over - to help a person, usually for a short period of time, until something else happens

Gretchen needs an afternoon snack to tide her over until dinner.

payday - the day when one is paid for one's work, usually once a week or once every two weeks

Her payday is the 15th of every month.

to come in handy - to be useful or helpful

Knowing a few words in another language comes in handy when you're traveling.

to quit while (one) is ahead - to stop doing something while one is successful, not trying to continue to get more of something or to do something better

Jothio made a lot of money while playing cards, so she decided to quit while she was ahead and not risk losing it all.