C1idiommoneyIELTS-friendly
live hand to mouth
USUK
to have only just enough money for each day, with nothing saved
Also 'live from hand to mouth'. Before a noun: 'a hand-to-mouth existence'.
In context
Before he found a steady job, Hung was living hand to mouth in a rented room.
Many street vendors live from hand to mouth and can't afford to get sick.
More idioms about money
- a cash cowa product or business that steadily makes a lot of money
- a false economya way of saving money that ends up costing more later
- a gold minea business or thing that makes a lot of money, or a rich source of something
- a golden handshakea large sum of money paid to someone when they leave a job
- a money pitsomething, often a house or car, that costs you much more money than it is worth