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Medium: Break the bank

Medium: Break the bank

Premier Vocabulary is a mini-podcast for you to learn football English one word at a time. We have three different levels for you: easy, medium and hard.

This episode is medium so we’re looking at football words and phrases you need to describe what’s happening on the pitch or words and phrases fans and commentators on TV might use. There are lots of phrasal verbs to learn at this level.

Summary

Learn more football vocabulary with Premier Skills English. Each lesson in our Premier Vocabulary section looks at one football word or phrase. This lesson looks at the phrase to break the bank

You can find more lessons on the side of this page.

Transcript

Rich: Hello my name’s Rich and welcome to Premier Skills English - Premier Vocabulary.

Jack: Hi there! I’m Jack. We’re here to help you with your football English. Premier Vocabulary is a mini-podcast for you to learn football English one word at a time. 

Rich: We have three different levels for you: easy, medium and hard.

Jack: This episode is medium so we’re looking at football words and phrases you need to describe what’s happening on the pitch or words and phrases fans and commentators on TV might use. There will be lots of phrasal verbs to learn at this level.


Rich: The phrase we are looking at in this episode is to break the bank.

Jack: Break the bank is an idiom and it means to spend a lot of money on something - often a surprising amount of money or maybe more money than you can afford.

Rich: When talking about football we hear this phrase a lot when talking about transfers - buying and selling players.

Jack: It’s a phrase fans sometimes use when they discover another club wants to buy one of their best players. 

Rich: Listen to this.

Jack: Have you heard that Real Madrid want to buy Mohamed Salah.

Rich: You’ve got to be joking. Why would he want to go there?

Jack: It’s just a rumour. I saw it in the gossip pages.

Rich: Well, they’d have to break the bank to get him. Bids start at 200 million!


Jack: So, to break the bank might be used by fans when speaking about clubs spending a lot of money.

Rich: You might also see the phrase in newspaper headlines. Things like City ready to break the bank on new striker.

Jack: In a more general sense the phrase is used much more in the negative and often in a slightly humorous way. Have a listen to this:

Rich: Shall we get something to eat before we go in?

Jack: I’m not sure. Everything’s a bit pricey around here.

Rich: Come on let’s grab a slice of pizza. It’s not going to break the bank.

Jack: We sometimes use this phrase when we think someone does want to spend very much money.

Rich: Yes but we use it to be funny not mean. We might also see the phrase when we are looking for good prices or discounts. Listen to this:

Jack: Are you going on holiday this year?

Rich: I hope so. We’ll probably go camping  - something that doesn’t break the bank. 

Final whistle

Jack: There is the final whistle!

Rich: We’ll be back soon with more Premier Vocabulary from Premier Skills English.

Jack: Bye for now and enjoy your football.

Discuss

  • What's the biggest transfer fee your club has paid for/spent on a player?
  • Which player would you like your club to go and break the bank for?

Write your answers in the comments section below.

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Comments

Michaelsun
17/02/2022
CN
738
points

Kylian Mbapp is the player which every club want break the bank for.


Michaelsun
17/02/2022 10:17
China
Manchester United
738

Kylian Mbapp is the player which every club want break the bank for.

Gabriel Amaral's picture
Gabriel Amaral
04/05/2021
BR
1512
points

My club spent 25 million buying former Palmeiras player Arthur Victor. It was the club's record transfer.
I think we're able to break the bank buying Flamengo's striker Pedro!


Gabriel Amaral's picture
Gabriel Amaral
04/05/2021 15:28
Brazil
Arsenal
1512

My club spent 25 million buying former Palmeiras player Arthur Victor. It was the club's record transfer.
I think we're able to break the bank buying Flamengo's striker Pedro!

Mo'men Mohammed's picture
Mo'men Mohammed
05/04/2021
EG
438
points

biggest transfer fee Arsenal has paid for is €79 million (£72 million) for "Nicolas pépé" coming from Lille Losc.

The player i would like my club to go and break the bank for is "Mohamed Salah".


Mo'men Mohammed's picture
Mo'men Mohammed
05/04/2021 13:13
Egypt
Arsenal
438

biggest transfer fee Arsenal has paid for is €79 million (£72 million) for "Nicolas pépé" coming from Lille Losc.

The player i would like my club to go and break the bank for is "Mohamed Salah".

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
03/12/2020
UA
6559
points

Liverpool usually manages not to break the bank on the transfer market.


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
03/12/2020 18:57
Ukraine
Liverpool
6559

Liverpool usually manages not to break the bank on the transfer market.

Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
03/12/2020
UA
6559
points

I would like Liverpool to go and break the bank for Kevin De Bruyne.


Alex_from_Ukraine's picture
Alex_from_Ukraine
03/12/2020 18:55
Ukraine
Liverpool
6559

I would like Liverpool to go and break the bank for Kevin De Bruyne.

Hector Pinzon's picture
Hector Pinzon
23/04/2020
CO
496
points

· Harry Maguire was the biggest transfer. I think that the Maguire's cost was very expensive for a defender player.
· I would like my club go and break the bank for James Rodriguez.


Hector Pinzon's picture
Hector Pinzon
23/04/2020 19:16
Colombia
Manchester United
496

· Harry Maguire was the biggest transfer. I think that the Maguire's cost was very expensive for a defender player.
· I would like my club go and break the bank for James Rodriguez.

Leaderboard

Top Scorers
RankNameScore
1Alex_from_Ukraine6559
2mobeckham6524
3hsn5551
4wsanta5086
5kwesimanifest4779
6Liubomyr4417
7elghoul3988
8assemjuve3705
9aragorn19863557
10Gergő Nagy3396
Country ranking
RankNameScore
1Colombia71666
2Ukraine33797
3Spain29267
4Serbia27426
5Brazil23321
6Albania20578
7Vietnam20405
8Turkey20001
9Macedonia19074
10Bosnia and Herzegovina16333
Club ranking
RankNameScore
1Manchester United143452
2Liverpool111000
3Chelsea89953
4Arsenal86174
5Manchester City58584
6Tottenham Hotspur19326
7Newcastle United10545
8West Ham United7637
9AFC Bournemouth4870
10Crystal Palace4491

Level

3
Average: 3 (1 vote)

Goals

Learn more football vocabulary.