Idiom: to shell out; used as a verb

First Example:If you want a car like mine, you’re
going to have to shell out $23,000;  that’s how much it cost me after taxes and
fees.

Meaning: To “shell out” something means to spend a certain
amount of money; the expression suggests that the amount is a large cost.  This idiom doesn’t require a specific amount,
such as when it is used in a question, but an answer will usually include a
specific number, as in the following example.


Second
Example:
   Andrew.
The diamond on that ring you gave
your girlfriend is huge!  How much did
you have to shell out for that?
   Ben.
Only $100…  The diamond is fake, but don’t tell her that!

Here, Andrew thinks that Ben gave
his girlfriend an expensive ring, so he uses the idiom “shell out,”
but Ben replies with a much smaller number. Notice that the modal “have to”
is often used with “shell out” as in both examples above (however,
the second example could be written without it).  In addition to questions, “shell
out” can also be used with an expression to suggest a large number instead
of an actual number, as in the following example:


Third Example:In order the keep the woman quiet
after the accident, the theme park shelled
outan obscene amount of money.  She’ll
never have to work another day in her life.

In this case, “obscene”
means an outrageous amount that people would be shocked (and maybe even offended) to hear, and the use of
“shell out” heightens the idea that the “obscene” amount
was quite large.

This idiom is from LSI’s book “Reading
Savvy,” which is used in the Level 5 Reading classes. For more
information, please visit https://www.languagesystems.com/