Money talks

Idiomatic Phrase
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Money talks signifies wealth's power to influence decisions, access, and outcomes; poetically, it critiques materialism, corruption, or inequality, exposing how financial capital shapes social and political realities.

Detailed Definition
Money talks means wealth has influence, power, or persuasive force, often overriding fairness, truth, or moral principle. In poetry, the idiom is valuable for social critique, satire, and poems about corruption, class, patronage, marriage, or justice. It personifies money as a voice that can command attention where human need may be ignored. A poet may use it bitterly to show how markets silence conscience, or ironically when fine ideals collapse before payment. The phrase exposes material power behind polite surfaces.
Example
Example in poetry:
Influence: "In politics, money talks louder than citizen voices sometimes."; Critical: "Money talks but poetry whispers truths that echo eternally."; Educational: "Critiques materialism in economic verses."; "Money talks when justice falls silent."
Additional Notes
An idiomatic phrase asserting that wealth commands influence, used in poems offering materialist critique or exposing corruption. Its bluntness suits ironic or satirical contexts. Pair with idioms of powerlessness or virtue. Educational for examining how economic language functions as political commentary in verse. Contrast with idioms emphasizing non-material values to illuminate the poem's ideological stance.
Also Known As
Cash is king Wealth speaks Money does the talking
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