Does “he squandered his car on drink” sound natural?Natural way for saying 'buffer period'“Joining someone for a drink” vs “Joining someone in a drink”Does 'not too much' sound natural?Does “be late for the green light” look natural?Writing this line in a natural way“You've done very bad not to…” How to make it sound naturalDoes “unbuild” in “Unbuild your Legos before putting them back into the box” sound natural?He is fixing his carDoes “my internal body clock is broken” sound natural?Is this sentence correct? Does it sound natural?
Why is the "ls" command showing permissions of files in a FAT32 partition?
Showing a sum is positive
What to do when eye contact makes your coworker uncomfortable?
Why do some congregations only make noise at certain occasions of Haman?
How to make money from a browser who sees 5 seconds into the future of any web page?
"It doesn't matter" or "it won't matter"?
How to explain what's wrong with this application of the chain rule?
How do I fix the group tension caused by my character stealing and possibly killing without provocation?
What kind of floor tile is this?
Short story about a deaf man, who cuts people tongues
Stack Interview Code methods made from class Node and Smart Pointers
Has any country ever had 2 former presidents in jail simultaneously?
Strong empirical falsification of quantum mechanics based on vacuum energy density?
Delete multiple columns using awk or sed
Will number of steps recorded on FitBit/any fitness tracker add up distance in PokemonGo?
Were Persian-Median kings illiterate?
Is there a way to have vectors outlined in a Vector Plot?
Non-trope happy ending?
What's the name of the logical fallacy where a debater extends a statement far beyond the original statement to make it true?
How would you translate "more" for use as an interface button?
How can ping know if my host is down
Is this toilet slogan correct usage of the English language?
Creating two special characters
Review your own paper in Mathematics
Does “he squandered his car on drink” sound natural?
Natural way for saying 'buffer period'“Joining someone for a drink” vs “Joining someone in a drink”Does 'not too much' sound natural?Does “be late for the green light” look natural?Writing this line in a natural way“You've done very bad not to…” How to make it sound naturalDoes “unbuild” in “Unbuild your Legos before putting them back into the box” sound natural?He is fixing his carDoes “my internal body clock is broken” sound natural?Is this sentence correct? Does it sound natural?
I am struggling with how to express the idea that somebody sold out some article of his possession (computer, car, house, etc.) and used the money to buy himself alcohol to drink.
For example,
-- Where is his computer?
-- Well, he squandered it on drink.
Dictionaries show that "to squander on drink" is okay; but when I type in Google Search "squandered his car on drink", I get zero results, which makes me think that there might be some better and more common ways of expressing the same thought.
phrase-request
add a comment |
I am struggling with how to express the idea that somebody sold out some article of his possession (computer, car, house, etc.) and used the money to buy himself alcohol to drink.
For example,
-- Where is his computer?
-- Well, he squandered it on drink.
Dictionaries show that "to squander on drink" is okay; but when I type in Google Search "squandered his car on drink", I get zero results, which makes me think that there might be some better and more common ways of expressing the same thought.
phrase-request
add a comment |
I am struggling with how to express the idea that somebody sold out some article of his possession (computer, car, house, etc.) and used the money to buy himself alcohol to drink.
For example,
-- Where is his computer?
-- Well, he squandered it on drink.
Dictionaries show that "to squander on drink" is okay; but when I type in Google Search "squandered his car on drink", I get zero results, which makes me think that there might be some better and more common ways of expressing the same thought.
phrase-request
I am struggling with how to express the idea that somebody sold out some article of his possession (computer, car, house, etc.) and used the money to buy himself alcohol to drink.
For example,
-- Where is his computer?
-- Well, he squandered it on drink.
Dictionaries show that "to squander on drink" is okay; but when I type in Google Search "squandered his car on drink", I get zero results, which makes me think that there might be some better and more common ways of expressing the same thought.
phrase-request
phrase-request
edited 9 hours ago
brilliant
asked 9 hours ago
brilliantbrilliant
92421528
92421528
add a comment |
add a comment |
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
While you can squander money on drink, you cannot generally squander anything else on drink. The top dictionary definition of "squander" is "to spend or use (money, time, etc.) extravagantly or wastefully." You cannot "spend" a car or a computer, so it doesn't make sense to squander them either.
Strangely, using "drink" idiomatically to mean "alcohol" is almost always done in the context of wasting money, time, or opportunity:
He blew his money on drink.
She had so much potential, but she wasted it all on gambling and drink.
Otherwise, native speakers tend to use a different slang term, such as "booze", or a more literal or specific term like "liquor," "beer," or even just "alchohol."
Here are some alternatives that I think communicates what you're trying to say. I'm ordering them roughly from most straightforward to most judgmental:
He sold his car to buy alcohol.
He traded his car for beer money.
He sold his car and blew the money on booze.
"Squander" is a funny-sounding word, and normally used only in specific contexts. The most common phrases using "squander," as far as I'm aware, are:
- To squander money / resources
- To squander goodwill
- To squander your time
- To squander an opportunity
"Squander a car" doesn't make sense here, but it might if someone were prone to drag racing.
– chrylis
6 hours ago
A better phrasing would be "He sold his car, and squandered the money on drink".
– jamesqf
13 mins ago
add a comment |
I think one normally squanders money on something. The money could come from selling an item, but you have to make that explicit. Try something like:
-- Well, he sold his computer and squandered his profits on drink.
add a comment |
You "squander" something consumable, like time, money, effort and so on. It sounds unusual to "squander" a computer because you don't use it by consuming or exchanging it.
However, precisely because it is unusual, as a native speaker I would interpret "Well, he squandered his computer on drink" as a witticism. I would both understand what you meant and think you were being very clever.
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function()
var channelOptions =
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "481"
;
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function()
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled)
StackExchange.using("snippets", function()
createEditor();
);
else
createEditor();
);
function createEditor()
StackExchange.prepareEditor(
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader:
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
,
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
);
);
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fell.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f201719%2fdoes-he-squandered-his-car-on-drink-sound-natural%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
3 Answers
3
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
While you can squander money on drink, you cannot generally squander anything else on drink. The top dictionary definition of "squander" is "to spend or use (money, time, etc.) extravagantly or wastefully." You cannot "spend" a car or a computer, so it doesn't make sense to squander them either.
Strangely, using "drink" idiomatically to mean "alcohol" is almost always done in the context of wasting money, time, or opportunity:
He blew his money on drink.
She had so much potential, but she wasted it all on gambling and drink.
Otherwise, native speakers tend to use a different slang term, such as "booze", or a more literal or specific term like "liquor," "beer," or even just "alchohol."
Here are some alternatives that I think communicates what you're trying to say. I'm ordering them roughly from most straightforward to most judgmental:
He sold his car to buy alcohol.
He traded his car for beer money.
He sold his car and blew the money on booze.
"Squander" is a funny-sounding word, and normally used only in specific contexts. The most common phrases using "squander," as far as I'm aware, are:
- To squander money / resources
- To squander goodwill
- To squander your time
- To squander an opportunity
"Squander a car" doesn't make sense here, but it might if someone were prone to drag racing.
– chrylis
6 hours ago
A better phrasing would be "He sold his car, and squandered the money on drink".
– jamesqf
13 mins ago
add a comment |
While you can squander money on drink, you cannot generally squander anything else on drink. The top dictionary definition of "squander" is "to spend or use (money, time, etc.) extravagantly or wastefully." You cannot "spend" a car or a computer, so it doesn't make sense to squander them either.
Strangely, using "drink" idiomatically to mean "alcohol" is almost always done in the context of wasting money, time, or opportunity:
He blew his money on drink.
She had so much potential, but she wasted it all on gambling and drink.
Otherwise, native speakers tend to use a different slang term, such as "booze", or a more literal or specific term like "liquor," "beer," or even just "alchohol."
Here are some alternatives that I think communicates what you're trying to say. I'm ordering them roughly from most straightforward to most judgmental:
He sold his car to buy alcohol.
He traded his car for beer money.
He sold his car and blew the money on booze.
"Squander" is a funny-sounding word, and normally used only in specific contexts. The most common phrases using "squander," as far as I'm aware, are:
- To squander money / resources
- To squander goodwill
- To squander your time
- To squander an opportunity
"Squander a car" doesn't make sense here, but it might if someone were prone to drag racing.
– chrylis
6 hours ago
A better phrasing would be "He sold his car, and squandered the money on drink".
– jamesqf
13 mins ago
add a comment |
While you can squander money on drink, you cannot generally squander anything else on drink. The top dictionary definition of "squander" is "to spend or use (money, time, etc.) extravagantly or wastefully." You cannot "spend" a car or a computer, so it doesn't make sense to squander them either.
Strangely, using "drink" idiomatically to mean "alcohol" is almost always done in the context of wasting money, time, or opportunity:
He blew his money on drink.
She had so much potential, but she wasted it all on gambling and drink.
Otherwise, native speakers tend to use a different slang term, such as "booze", or a more literal or specific term like "liquor," "beer," or even just "alchohol."
Here are some alternatives that I think communicates what you're trying to say. I'm ordering them roughly from most straightforward to most judgmental:
He sold his car to buy alcohol.
He traded his car for beer money.
He sold his car and blew the money on booze.
"Squander" is a funny-sounding word, and normally used only in specific contexts. The most common phrases using "squander," as far as I'm aware, are:
- To squander money / resources
- To squander goodwill
- To squander your time
- To squander an opportunity
While you can squander money on drink, you cannot generally squander anything else on drink. The top dictionary definition of "squander" is "to spend or use (money, time, etc.) extravagantly or wastefully." You cannot "spend" a car or a computer, so it doesn't make sense to squander them either.
Strangely, using "drink" idiomatically to mean "alcohol" is almost always done in the context of wasting money, time, or opportunity:
He blew his money on drink.
She had so much potential, but she wasted it all on gambling and drink.
Otherwise, native speakers tend to use a different slang term, such as "booze", or a more literal or specific term like "liquor," "beer," or even just "alchohol."
Here are some alternatives that I think communicates what you're trying to say. I'm ordering them roughly from most straightforward to most judgmental:
He sold his car to buy alcohol.
He traded his car for beer money.
He sold his car and blew the money on booze.
"Squander" is a funny-sounding word, and normally used only in specific contexts. The most common phrases using "squander," as far as I'm aware, are:
- To squander money / resources
- To squander goodwill
- To squander your time
- To squander an opportunity
answered 9 hours ago
JesseJesse
1,237510
1,237510
"Squander a car" doesn't make sense here, but it might if someone were prone to drag racing.
– chrylis
6 hours ago
A better phrasing would be "He sold his car, and squandered the money on drink".
– jamesqf
13 mins ago
add a comment |
"Squander a car" doesn't make sense here, but it might if someone were prone to drag racing.
– chrylis
6 hours ago
A better phrasing would be "He sold his car, and squandered the money on drink".
– jamesqf
13 mins ago
"Squander a car" doesn't make sense here, but it might if someone were prone to drag racing.
– chrylis
6 hours ago
"Squander a car" doesn't make sense here, but it might if someone were prone to drag racing.
– chrylis
6 hours ago
A better phrasing would be "He sold his car, and squandered the money on drink".
– jamesqf
13 mins ago
A better phrasing would be "He sold his car, and squandered the money on drink".
– jamesqf
13 mins ago
add a comment |
I think one normally squanders money on something. The money could come from selling an item, but you have to make that explicit. Try something like:
-- Well, he sold his computer and squandered his profits on drink.
add a comment |
I think one normally squanders money on something. The money could come from selling an item, but you have to make that explicit. Try something like:
-- Well, he sold his computer and squandered his profits on drink.
add a comment |
I think one normally squanders money on something. The money could come from selling an item, but you have to make that explicit. Try something like:
-- Well, he sold his computer and squandered his profits on drink.
I think one normally squanders money on something. The money could come from selling an item, but you have to make that explicit. Try something like:
-- Well, he sold his computer and squandered his profits on drink.
answered 9 hours ago
MixolydianMixolydian
4,046613
4,046613
add a comment |
add a comment |
You "squander" something consumable, like time, money, effort and so on. It sounds unusual to "squander" a computer because you don't use it by consuming or exchanging it.
However, precisely because it is unusual, as a native speaker I would interpret "Well, he squandered his computer on drink" as a witticism. I would both understand what you meant and think you were being very clever.
add a comment |
You "squander" something consumable, like time, money, effort and so on. It sounds unusual to "squander" a computer because you don't use it by consuming or exchanging it.
However, precisely because it is unusual, as a native speaker I would interpret "Well, he squandered his computer on drink" as a witticism. I would both understand what you meant and think you were being very clever.
add a comment |
You "squander" something consumable, like time, money, effort and so on. It sounds unusual to "squander" a computer because you don't use it by consuming or exchanging it.
However, precisely because it is unusual, as a native speaker I would interpret "Well, he squandered his computer on drink" as a witticism. I would both understand what you meant and think you were being very clever.
You "squander" something consumable, like time, money, effort and so on. It sounds unusual to "squander" a computer because you don't use it by consuming or exchanging it.
However, precisely because it is unusual, as a native speaker I would interpret "Well, he squandered his computer on drink" as a witticism. I would both understand what you meant and think you were being very clever.
answered 1 hour ago
LenLen
435
435
add a comment |
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language Learners Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fell.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f201719%2fdoes-he-squandered-his-car-on-drink-sound-natural%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown