51 MONEY - my American friend my American friend

M : This episode is about MONEY !
M : First of all : Money is UNCOUNTABLE.
C : Exactly- because I have none. I can’t count what I don’t have!
M: That’s not what I meant!
C: Alright, MONEY is UNCOUNTABLE. We can’t say one money, two moneys…, we can count Dollars, one Dollar, two Dollars…or Euros: one Euro, two Euros… but money is an abstract notion and it’s an uncountable noun. That’s why we say: money IS, not money are.
M : Now let’s talk about CASH money, for example, here’s my wallet.
C: You have money in your wallet??
M: A bit.
C: I have spider webs in mine. Ok, Marta, that’s paper money. BILLS. We call them bills. For example: a 10 dollar bill or a 20 Euro bill. Ok. That’s metal currency instead. We call those small metal pieces COINS.
M : Ok, bills and coins. The one dollar bill can be called a BUCK, right?
C : yes, that’s why we can say “bucks” whenever we mean dollars. It’s informal but for example.. “Marta, I’m running out of cash, could you lend me 10 bucks please?”
M : Sure! 10 bucks for you Cindy, here you are.
C : Can you lend me a BENJAMIN ?
M : …a Benjamin?
C : that’s a nickname for the $100 bill, because Benjamin Franklin is pictured on the bill.
M : ok, so if you mention “Benjamins” you are referring to hundred dollar bills. And the answer to your question is: no, I’m not giving you a Benjamin, sorry.
C : alright, I was just kidding. Now let’s talk about coins. They have nicknames too. A 1 cent coin is a PENNY. A 5 cent coin is a NICKEL, a 10 cent coin is a DIME and a 25 cent coin is a QUARTER.
M : Right. 1 cent Penny, 5 cent Nickel, 10 cent Dime, 25 cent Quarter.
C : For example, imagine I’m a poor person approaching you at the station. I would say: “Madam, can you spare a dime please?”
M : ….a dime… 10 cents. Yes, sure!
C : Madam can you spare a Benjamin please? ☺
M : yes,…hmmm…wait a minute….a Benjamin is a hundred dollar bill… I’m afraid that’s a little too much ! Nice try, though! ☺
C : I tried! Talking about coins, sometimes we toss a coin to make a decision in a neutral way. That’s what happens in sports, for example, the referee tosses a coin at the beginning of a match to see which team is going to start first.
M : Ok, let’s toss a coin to decide who is going to talk about idioms regarding money.
C : Heads or tails, Marta? That means the face, the head, of the coin or the other side of the coin? Heads or tails?
M : hmmm…heads.
C : Ok, tails for me. Let’s see. Tails.
M : Ok, you won. So go ahead, give us an idiom about money.
C : All right. I know 3 idioms about money mentioning body parts. TO COST AN ARM AND A LEG. That means to cost a lot! For example: My new laptop computer cost me an arm & a leg.
M : To cost an arm and a leg. Ok.
C : Another one is: TO HAVE AN ITCHY PALM. That means to ask for tips. For example: That valet has an itchy palm. His hand is always out, asking for money.
M : To have an itchy palm, got it.
C : Third one: TO HAVE STICKY FINGERS, to be a thief. For example: The new shop assistant has sticky fingers and many items in the store have disappeared. They’ve stolen many items from the shop. The shop assistant has “sticky fingers”.
M : to have sticky fingers… hmmm…
C : Marta? … hey… a penny for your thoughts.
M : …oh, yes, the Rolling Stones, that’s where I heard Sticky Fingers before. Now I remember.
C : yes, you’re right.
M : by the way, what did you mean when you told me “A PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS” ?
C : that’s another idiom. It’s a nice way of asking someone what they are thinking. Penny for your thoughts, what are you thinking about?
M : a penny for your thoughts. Nice one. I like it.
C : ok, Marta, let’s move on, we have to hurry up. C’mon, TIME IS MONEY.
M : yeah, that’s another idiom I’ve heard many times, time is mon