English @ the Movies: 'Shaking Us Down'


source: VOA Learning English    2016年8月13日
With English @ the Movies we teach you American sayings you might not know. Here is one from the movie "Joy," based on a true story. Wonder what it means when the woman named Joy says "seems like you're shaking us down?" Watch, and find out.
Originally published at - http://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/...

# shake (one) down: 
1. To blackmail someone for money; to extort someone. The assistant has been shaking the governor down ever since he found out that she'd been taking bribes.
2. To force someone to pay an exorbitant or unfair amount of money. I think it's criminal that the IRS gets to shake you down for so much of your hard-earned cash each year. Her private school offers the best education in the state, but they don't hesitate to shake us down for the privilege.
3. To ask or pressure someone for money. Before you know it, the kids will be driving their own cars and shaking you down for money on the weekends.
(source: https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/shake+down)