| 释义 |
cost an arm and a leg cost an arm and a legslang To cost lot of money. College tuitions cost an arm and leg nowadays. I'm sick of paying rent in this town because it costs an arm and a leg!See also: and, arm, cost, legcost an arm and a leg If something costs an arm and a leg, it costs a lot of money. It cost us an arm and a leg to get here. But it has been worth every penny and more. Note: Verbs such as pay, charge and spend are sometimes used instead of cost. Many restaurants were charging an arm and a leg for poor quality food.See also: and, arm, cost, legcost an arm and a leg be extremely expensive. informalSee also: and, arm, cost, legcost/pay an ˌarm and a ˈleg (informal) cost/pay a lot of money: We want to redecorate the living room, but I’m afraid it’s going to cost us an arm and a leg.See also: and, arm, cost, leg, paycost an arm and a leg/a pretty penny, toExcessively expensive, exorbitant. The first phrase is American in origin and dates from the mid-twentieth century. The source is obvious: giving up an arm and a leg to buy something is clearly too costly. The use of “pretty” to mean considerable in amount was originally British and is now archaic except in a few well-worn phrases like this one, a cliché since the late nineteenth century. It was common throughout the eighteenth century, and crossed the Atlantic as well (“The captain might still make a pretty penny,” Bret Harte, Maruja, 1885). A similar term was a fine penny, now obsolete.See also: and, arm, cost, leg, pretty |