mortgage on the house

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hi,

What do you make of the following sentence:

1. Yesterday I went to the bank and took out a mortgage [color=red]on the house

Can it mean that I got the money for free, because on the house means free (as in : you don’t have to pay - this drink is on the house)?

Thanks !

2

Hello Alex,

It would usually mean no more than “I arranged a mortgage so that I could buy the house” (i.e. with the house itself as security).

Of course, you could use it as a joke, if by some miracle the bank waived any admin charges.

Best wishes,

MrP

3

That’s a very imaginative interpretation, Alex!

It reminds me of the old joke:

Hotel guest: “Call me a taxi!”
Porter: “Okay, you’re a taxi!”