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Definition 2024


pay_an_arm_and_a_leg

arm and a leg

English

Noun

arm and a leg

  1. (idiomatic) A very high price for an item or service; an exorbitant price; usually used after the verb cost.
    • 1954, me, “them”, in Commentary, volume 18, American Jewish Committee, page 448:
      That Polack costs me an arm and a leg, he thought.
    • 1960 March 29, “Slim Waists Prompted New Sportswear Line”, in New York Times, page 44:
      Bangle bracelets in fourteen-karat gold that do not cost an arm and a leg are always in demand.
    • 2008, Jackie Collins, Hollywood Wives, Pan Macmillan, ISBN 9780330462433, page 417:
      Her house was fabulous, her tits perfection – besides – the Beverly Hills Hotel was costing him an arm and a leg.

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