Modul 5: Idiom 38: Run for Their Money
Video 01
Run for Their Money
Hi. Let’s take a look at the Idiom, ‘Run for their money.’ What does this mean? Well if you give someone a ‘run for their mone’ , you are competing against them at a level that is challenging for them – not very easy for them – but they still win. Imagine two people competing in a race. They are both very, very fast. One of the racers just manages to gain a little boost – some extra speed or energy – towards the end and they win the race. You could say that the loser gave the winner a run for their money because of how close the race was.
So what is the origin of this idiom? (Idiom picture up)
This idiom refers to horse racing. When bettors – the guys with their money – watched horse racing and they said that they wanted a run for their money, they were saying that they wanted the horse that they’ve placed a bet on – a bet is placing money on something – they wanted those horses to participate in the race. To participate: to be in the race. Sometimes a horse is taken out of a race once bettors have already placed money on it, so you could say that in a literal sense those bettors did not get a run for their money.
Take a look at our illustration.
Here we can see a horse racing event. A crowd of bettors are waving their money in excitement as they watch the race that they have placed bets on. Can you see how close the race is? The two jockeys are millimetres apart. Look at the desperation of the racers just to get in front of the other. The race is neck and neck. It is very close. They are currently giving each other a run for their money.
Here are some examples before we go to the concept questions…
“You are really good at that! You gave me a run for my money!” (I barely won.)
“Do you play video games? I’m sure I could give you a run for your money.”
“The other team gave us a run for our money and now I’ve pulled a muscle in my leg!”
“I love watching cooking shows on T.V but I think my mum could give some of these professional chefs a run for their money.”
“I’ve worked in this job for 50 years and the only person who has given me a run for my money is the new intern!”
Great.
Let’s look at some situations and check your understanding:
- Abbie is in the school playground. The boys did not want her to join in their game of football because she’s a girl but she scored the winning goal. Did she give them a run for their money? She certainly did and now the boys all want her to join their team.
- A policeman quickly pulled over – stopped his car – and jumped out of the car as he chased a car thief. He ran after the thief following him all around the houses. The thief was very fast and he almost got away until a second police car blocked the road in front of him. The policeman chasing him caught up and arrested him. Did the car thief give the police a run for their money? Yes, he did. The police had to work really hard to get him.
- Muhammad Ali’s fastest knockout was in a fight against Sonny Liston. The match lasted just 1 minute and 43 seconds. Did Liston give Ali a run for his money? No, he was knocked out at the beginning of the match.
- Harvey is a street dancer and wins the local dance competition every year, he is always a lot better than the other dancers. This year a dancer who is new to the neighbourhood enters the competition. The new dancer doesn’t win but comes a close runner-up – and that means he came in a second position. Did Harvey give the new dancer a run for his money?
No, he didn’t because he won. The new dancer gave Harvey a run for his money.
- My son loves to Go-Kart. He goes Go-Karting with his friends a lot, but he doesn’t know that I too am very good at Go-Karting. He was expecting me to be really slow but he was very shocked to see how good I was. We both tried our hardest and he beat me just by one second. Did my son think that I would give him a run for his money?
No, he didn’t think that I would give him his run for his money but when we got onto the track, I definitely gave him a run for his money.
Great. Now go and practise. See you soon.