🗓️ Idiom: Throw Money Down the Drain
💬 Meaning
- To waste money on something that brings no value or return.
- To spend money carelessly or on something ineffective or unnecessary.
🧠 Example Sentences
- Investing in that outdated software was like throwing money down the drain.
- If we don’t fix the marketing strategy, we’re just throwing money down the drain.
- Buying all that expensive equipment before confirming the project was throwing money down the drain.
🏛️ Origin
This idiom uses a vivid image of literally pouring money into a drain where it disappears and becomes unrecoverable. It emphasises the idea of complete financial waste.
📝 Practice Exercises
1. Fill in the blank:
Paying for ads that don’t reach the right audience is just __________.
Answer
throwing money down the drain
2. Choose the correct meaning of “throwing money down the drain”:
A) Investing in a profitable opportunity
B) Spending money wisely
C) Wasting money without any benefit
Answer
C) Wasting money without any benefit
3. Rewrite the sentence using: Throw Money Down the Drain
“They wasted a lot of money on a failed campaign.
Answer
They threw money down the drain with that failed campaign.
ℹ️ Other Useful Pages
👉 Finance and Accounting Idioms
👉 Business English Idioms List
👥 Support Spaces
👉 Student Space
👉 Tutor Toolkit
⭐️ Extras
📫 Get a Daily Idiom
🚀 Build a Business with AI
Rob is a CELTA qualified English teacher with 15 years of international experience. He has a BSc and PGDip from Loughborough and St Andrews universities in the UK. He has taught in Thailand and Saudi Arabia and now works with professionals worldwide.
