too rich for our blood

[alpacinou]

Hello.

Can I say traveling is "too rich for one's blood"?

What do you think about this?

The value of our currency has declined sharply so traveling abroad has become too rich for our blood.

And this?

The value of our currency has declined sharply so buying foreign brands has become too rich for our blood.

 

[emsr2d2]

Not really, no. The phrase is used to mean that something is too expensive or too posh to suit one's taste/preference, not one's financial situation.

 

[alpacinou]

Not really, no. The phrase is used to mean that something is too expensive or too posh to suit one's taste/preference, not one's financial situation.

But everybody would "prefer" to have the option of traveling abroad. They have the taste and preference but they can't do it.

 

[Raymott]

I've never heard of that idiom. Maybe it's too rich for my blood!

 

[emsr2d2]

But everybody would "prefer" to have the option of traveling abroad. They have the taste and preference but they can't do it.

That's still not the point. The point is that it doesn't have anything to do with the financial situation at all. Let's say I prefer (like) to spend £500 on a week's holiday every year. That's not because it's all I can afford; I just think that's a reasonable amount to spend on a holiday for myself. Imagine that a friend sends me the details of a holiday she thinks I might enjoy, but it's £1,200 per week. I have plenty of money in the bank and I could easily afford it, but I think £1,200 is just too much money for a week's holiday for one person. I could say, in that situation, "Thanks for the information but that's too rich for my blood".

 

[alpacinou]

Is there a similar idiom that can be used in the sentence from post #1?

 

[emsr2d2]

I see no reason at all for an idiom. Just say that travelling abroad has become "unaffordable" or "too expensive".