“Break the bank” means something is too expensive. It originated from casino gambling, but may also refer to breaking a piggy bank. It was also the name of a game show where contestants tried to win cash by breaking the bank, but no one ever won the top prize.
“Break the bank” is a slang term that means something costs too much money or goes over budget. This idiom has its origins in casino gambling as a reference to occasions when the casino bank does not have the money to cover winning bets. In common usage, the phrase is often used to say that a service or product is too expensive.
When the phrase is used in everyday speech, someone might say something like “Buying that car would suck” or a similar variation. In most cases, the term is used derogatorily to describe overpriced and expensive products. The phrase can also be used to warn others of impending costs or monetary losses on an acquisition, or even to suggest that a price for goods is reasonable and won’t break the bank.
While the phrase is commonly believed to originate from casino gambling, there are other suggestions as to where it started. Some obscure references point to the practice of storing money in ceramic banks, often called piggy banks. Early piggy banks didn’t have removable caps, so the only way to get your savings back was to break the piggy bank. The individual’s money often remained in the bank, therefore, until times of unusual need. During times of economic hardship or unexpected expenses, these banks were often destroyed to recover the money. If one broke the bank before times of need really arrived, the individual might not have enough money to carry him or her in a time of emergency.
Break the Bank was also the name of a 1948 game show. The original version was hosted by Bert Parks and aired in 30-minute segments. The show saw later incarnations and revivals of the phrase in 1976, 1985, and during the early 2000s. In these trivia-style game shows, contestants answered questions for a chance to win cash and were allowed to bet their their winnings earned against the chance to win the biggest prize by breaking the bank. During the time the show aired, no contestant ever broke the bank of $250,000 in US Dollars (USD), and the closest contender was a dentist named Harry Duncan, who won $60,000 USD.
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