Step 1 of 6: Vocabulary

Vocabulary Studio - Day 32

Cost an Arm and a Leg (very expensive, cost a fortune), Spill the Beans (reveal secret, let the cat out of the bag), and Shopping/Secret Dialogues

3 Words for Today

📚 Day 32 Core Idioms

Shopping & Secrets Mastery

Cost an Arm and a Leg & Spill the Beans

Master 2 highly practical idioms: expressing expensive prices ("Cost an arm and a leg") and revealing confidential secrets ("Spill the beans"), complete with grammar rules (cost $\rightarrow$ cost $\rightarrow$ cost), shopping dialogues, and workplace confidentiality practice.

Golden Memory Formula:

💰 VERY EXPENSIVE $\rightarrow$ Cost an arm and a leg (बहुत महंगा होना)•🤫 REVEAL A SECRET $\rightarrow$ Spill the beans (राज़ खोल देना)

1️⃣ COST AN ARM AND A LEG 💰

Expressing high prices, expensive items, and heavy repair/hotel bills.

Meaning & Breakdown

English Definition:Be very expensive

Hindi Meaning:बहुत महंगा होना / बहुत ज्यादा पैसे लगना

Simple English:Cost a lot of money

Core Example:

"This car costs an arm and a leg."

Meaning: यह car बहुत महंगी है।

🗣️ Daily Conversation Examples

That phone costs an arm and a leg.

This hotel costs an arm and a leg.

Eating at that restaurant costs an arm and a leg.

A house in that area costs an arm and a leg.

The repair cost me an arm and a leg.

That laptop cost me an arm and a leg.

💼 Shopping Mini-Dialogues

Example 1: Laptop

A: How much is this laptop?

B: It's ₹1,50,000.

A: Wow! It costs an arm and a leg.

Example 2: Watch

A: Did you buy that watch?

B: Yes.

A: How much did it cost?

B: It cost me an arm and a leg!

Example 3: Hotel

A: How much was the hotel?

B: ₹20,000 per night.

A: That's crazy! It costs an arm and a leg.

🧠 Important Grammar: Invariant Verb "Cost"

The verb cost is irregular and stays invariant: cost $\rightarrow$ cost $\rightarrow$ cost.

⚠️ Never say ❌ "costed"!

Present: It costs an arm and a leg.

Past: The laptop cost me an arm and a leg. (Not costed!)

🔤 5 Useful Sentence Patterns

1. It costs an arm and a leg.
2. It cost me an arm and a leg.
3. That car costs an arm and a leg.
4. The repair cost me an arm and a leg.
5. I don't want to pay an arm and a leg for it.

🧠 Similar Expressions vs Opposites

Very Expensive Synonyms:

It costs an arm and a leg.
It costs a fortune. 💡
It's extremely expensive.
It costs a lot of money.

"This apartment costs an arm and a leg." $\approx$ "This apartment costs a fortune."

Opposite (Inexpensive / Affordable):

It's cheap.
It's affordable.
It's reasonably priced.

"This phone doesn't cost an arm and a leg. It's quite affordable."

2️⃣ SPILL THE BEANS 🤫

Revealing a secret or confidential information to others.

Meaning & Concept

English Definition:Reveal a secret

Hindi Meaning:राज़ खोल देना / गुप्त बात बता देना

Simple English:Reveal confidential info

🧠 Easy Scenario Example:

Imagine your friend knows about a surprise party. You ask: "What are you planning?" Your friend accidentally tells you. You can say: "You spilled the beans!"

(Hindi: तुमने राज़ खोल दिया!)

🗣️ Daily Conversation Examples

Don't spill the beans!राज़ मत बताना!

Who spilled the beans?राज़ किसने बताया?

She spilled the beans about the surprise party.उसने surprise के बारे में राज़ खोल दिया।

He accidentally spilled the beans.उसने गलती से राज़ खोल दिया।

I wasn't supposed to tell anyone, but I spilled the beans.मुझे नहीं बताना था, पर मैंने बता दिया।

Come on, spill the beans!चलो, बताओ क्या बात है!

💼 Workplace & Casual Phrases

🗣️ Common Phrase: "Come on, spill the beans!"

Does not always mean a serious secret; it can simply mean: "Tell me what happened!"

Workplace Confidentiality:

Don't spill the beans about the new project.

Someone spilled the beans about the company's plans.

He accidentally spilled the beans about the promotion.

🗣️ Dialogue 1 — Exciting News

A: I heard you have some exciting news.

B: Who told you?

A: Rahul.

B: Oh no! He spilled the beans!

🗣️ Dialogue 2 — Surprise Party

A: Where are you going tonight?

B: We're planning something for Priya.

A: What are you planning?

B: I can't tell you.

A: Come on, spill the beans!

B: Okay, but don't tell anyone. It's a surprise party.

A: Don't worry. I won't tell anyone.

🧠 5 Patterns & Master List Synonym

5 Common Patterns:

1. Spill the beans! (Tell me the secret)
2. Don't spill the beans. (Don't reveal the secret)
3. He spilled the beans. (Revealed secret)
4. She accidentally spilled the beans. (Accidental leak)
5. Who spilled the beans? (Who revealed it?)

🐱 Spill the Beans vs Let the Cat Out of the Bag:

Both mean Reveal a secret.

• "He spilled the beans about the surprise."

• "He let the cat out of the bag about the surprise."

Both idioms are equally natural in everyday conversation!

📊 Day 32 Comparison & Memory Trick

Idiom	Meaning	Example Sentence
💰 Cost an arm and a leg	Very expensive (बहुत महंगा)	"This car costs an arm and a leg."
🤫 Spill the beans	Reveal a secret (राज़ खोल देना)	"Don't spill the beans."

💰 Arm + Leg Trick:

Giving an arm + a leg for something

$\rightarrow$ Very expensive!

🤫 Spilling Beans Trick:

Accidentally dropping a container of beans

$\rightarrow$ Revealing what was hidden inside!

🧪 Part 3: Correct the Common Mistakes

Avoid these 6 frequent errors made by English learners.

❌ This car costed an arm and a leg.

✅ This car cost an arm and a leg.

💡 Irregular verb rule: past tense of 'cost' is COST, never 'costed'.

❌ Don't spill beans.

✅ Don't spill the beans.

💡 Article rule: Always include article 'the' before beans.

❌ She spilled the bean.

✅ She spilled the beans.

💡 Plural rule: Idiom uses plural 'beans', not singular 'bean'.

❌ This phone costs arm and leg.

✅ This phone costs an arm and a leg.

💡 Article rule: Always say 'AN arm and A leg'.

❌ Who spill the beans?

✅ Who spilled the beans?

💡 Past tense rule: Use 'spilled' for past actions.

❌ He spilled the beans yesterday about secret.

✅ Natural: He spilled the beans about the secret yesterday.

💡 Word order: Place topic before time adverbial.

🧩 Part 1: Fill in the Blanks

Choose "cost an arm and a leg" or "spill the beans" for each sentence.

1. This car ________.

2. Don't ________ about the surprise.

3. That hotel ________.

4. Who ________ about the new project?

5. The repair ________.

6. Come on! ________. What happened?

7. She accidentally ________ about the promotion.

8. That designer bag ________.

9. Please don't ________ about our plans.

10. The trip ________, but it was worth it.