🗓️ Idiom: Hand to Mouth
💬 Meaning
- Living with just enough money to cover basic needs, without any savings or financial security.
- It describes a situation where a person earns just enough to survive day by day.
🧠 Example Sentences
- After losing his job, he was living hand to mouth for several months.
- Many workers on minimum wage are forced to live hand to mouth.
- She’s trying to save money now, but for years she lived hand to mouth.
🏛️ Origin
The phrase dates back to the 16th century and refers to the idea of food going directly from a person’s hand into their mouth, meaning having only enough for immediate needs, with nothing left over.
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blank:
During the recession, many families were living __________ to mouth.
Answer
hand
2. Choose the correct meaning of “hand to mouth”:
A) Living with financial stability
B) Living with just enough to survive
C) Spending money on luxury
Answer
B) Living with just enough to survive
3. Rewrite the sentence using the idiom:
“They survive on very little income and have no savings.” → Change the sentence using: hand to mouth
Answer
They live hand to mouth with no savings.
ℹ️ Other Useful Pages
👉 HR and Recruitment Idioms
👉 Business English Idioms List
👉 Student Space
👉 Tutor Toolkit
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