VOA · Words and Their Stories
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Words and Their Stories is VOA's classic program about American English expressions and idioms — where phrases like 'break the ice' come from and how to use them. Native-like idioms in slow, clear speech: a rare combination for learners.
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01And now, words and their stories from VOA Learning English.
02On today's show, we take you to the bank.
03Banks help us manage our money.
04When we make deposits, we put money in.
05When we make withdrawals, we take money out.
06Banks help us reach important life goals.
07We can borrow money from a bank to buy a house.
08A bank can loan us money to start a business.
09So we need to trust our banks.
10And that need for trust gives us some idiomatic expressions in American English that are connected to banks.
11The first is simply to bank on something.
12If you bank on something, you trust it will happen.
13In fact, you count on it happening.
14Sometimes we use this expression to mean our strategy depends on something to happen.
15Here are some examples.
16When a city hosts the Olympics, they bank on drawing large crowds to see the games.
17To win the election, the politician is banking on voters finding out about his opponent's scandals.
18We often use this expression in a set phrase.
19To bank on the fact that something will happen.
20For example, You can bank on the fact that a famous person caught doing something wrong will soon give a public apology.
21It is certain to happen.
22You can bank on the fact that if I see chocolate cake, I will eat it.
23It is a given.
24It will happen.
25If you are sure something will happen, it's like money in the bank.
26When we have money in the bank, we count on it to be there when we need it.
27Banks offer guarantees that they will protect our money.
28So if something is like money in the bank, it is a guarantee.
29It is a certainty.
30When we say you can take that to the bank, we mean something is a sure thing.
31It is true or certain to happen.
32We finish today's show with one more expression, which sounds like a funny situation.
33If you laugh all the way to the bank, you make a lot of money with very little effort.
34This expression can also mean that you are happy about making money from something that others think is unfair or even bad.
35In other situations, it means that you make money from something that others think is a waste of time.
36For example, when a woman started an organic, homemade dog food business, her friends thought it was a silly idea.
37They even laughed at her idea.
38But it ended up being very successful and made her very rich.
39So now, she is the one laughing.
40Laughing all the way to the bank.
41And that's all the time we have for this Words and Their Stories.
42If you want to learn English, the stories and programs at VOA Learning English can help you out.
43You can take that to the bank.
44Until next time, I'm Ana Mateo.
45Thank you.
// transcribed with Whisper AI — reading it is easy; catching it by ear is the skill
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