CHAMPAGNE TASTE ON BEER WAGES

Someone who has expensive tastes but a low income might be described as having “champagne taste on beer wages”, since champagne is generally more expensive than beer.

 e.g. “My mother always said I had champagne taste on beer wages.”

 The phrase “living beyond one’s means” has a similar meaning, indicating that someone spends more than they can afford.

e.g. “He said that people got into debt for numerous reasons, from living beyond their means and easy credit to losing their job.”

It will be interesting to see whether another idiom appears on this theme involving avocado toast. Comments made by columnist Bernard Salt in October 2016 caused much controversy and spawned many articles (mostly tongue-in-cheek – more on that in a future post) querying whether breakfasting on avocado toast prevented young people from affording their own homes.

Photo credits: Hatem Riahi and Luca Nebuloni