我们可以查到“rip”是撕、扯的意思，“off”可以被理解为离开，那么”rip off”可以是撕开、扯掉，但是这只是字面意思，口语中它还有其他的用法，我们生活中还有什么情况可以用到这个习语呢？

C: Hi guys. I’m Chris.

J: And I’m Joy. Today we’ll be looking at the idiom: a rip off. It means that something is not worth as much money as you have to pay for it. Usually you use it to express when something is very expensive. You can use it like this:
This is a rip off. / That was a rip off. / Those are rip offs.

C: Yup, when you rip something, it means that you are pulling it and tearing it apart suddenly and forcefully. So you can rip papers off of a notebook or you can rip the packaging off of a product. Here in this idiom: a rip off, we are talking about ripping money off of someone, which means it is so expensive that it’s just like they are taking the money away from you forcefully. You can also use it like this: They ripped me off with this new bike I bought. Maybe you just bought a second hand laptop from an online store yesterday. You begin using it but realize that it’s not as good as you thought it was. So you can tell your friend: I bought a laptop yesterday and now I really regret it cuz I think it was a total rip off.

J: You know what? I bought a dress online not very long ago. After I wore it for like one time, it started to fall apart already. It was absolutely a rip off.

C: Yeah you get what you pay for, right? Now, let’s see how we can use this idiom in a conversation:

J: Hey Jay. I see you got a new phone. How’s it handling?

C: Oh don’t mention it. It’s really expensive but actually it’s just a rip off. It’s totally not worth it.

J: Have you ever been ripped off before? Sometimes it’s better to spend more money to buy quality.

C: I believe so. And don’t worry we are not a rip off! So if you need any help with your English, feel free to contact us for our classes. Talk to you next time! Bye!

you get what you pay for: 一分钱一分货

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