an arm and a leg

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Noun

an arm and a leg (plural arms and legs)

1. (idiomatic, hyperbolic) Usually used after the verb cost, but also often charge, pay, and spend: a very high price for an item or service; an exorbitant price

   Synonym: pretty penny (cost a pretty penny)

   • 1954, 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 The 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, page 417:

     Her house was fabulous, her tits perfection – besides – the Beverly Hills Hotel was costing him an arm and a leg.

Translations

exorbitant amount

• Catalan: colló de mico (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 天價 / 天价 (zh) (tiānjià) (lit. "astronomical price"), 昂貴 / 昂贵 (zh) (ángguì) (lit. "expensive")

• Danish: det hvide ud af øjnene (usually used after the verb koste (cost))
• Dutch: een rib uit het lijf
• Finnish: maksaa mansikoita (lit. to cost strawberries), maksaa maltaita (lit. to cost malts)
• French: (verb) coûter les yeux de la tête (fr),(lit.to cost the eyes out of one's head) (verb) coûter la peau des fesses (fr), (verb, slang), (lit.to cost the skin of the butt.) coûter la peau du cul (fr) (lit.to cost the skin of the arse.)
• German: (verb) ein Germogens kosten, (verb) Kopf und Kragen kosten (lit. to cost (the) head and collar)
• Hungarian: borsos ár, a gatyája is rámegy
• Italian: occhio della testa (lit.eye of the head)
• Luxembourgish: d'Aen aus dem Kapp kaschten. (lit.to cost the eyes out of one's head)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: det hvite ut av øynene (usually used after the verb koste (cost))

• Polish: kosztować majątek (lit. cost an estate)
• Portuguese: olho da cara m(lit. eye of the head)
• Russian: сто́ить це́лое состоя́ние (stóitʹ céloje sostojánije), кру́гленькая су́мма f (krúglenʹkaja súmma) (lit. a round sum)
• Spanish: riñón (es) m, ojo de la cara m (lit.eye of the head.)
• Swedish: skjortan (sv) c, kosta skjortan (sv) (verb)
• Ukrainian: коштувати цілий статок (koštuvaty cilyj statok)(lit. cost an entire estate), кругленька сума (kruhlenʹka suma) (lit. a round sum)
• Vietnamese: giá cắt cổ (lit. "cut-throat price"), giá trên trời (lit. "price on [the] sky")

References

• “cost an arm and a leg/a small fortune”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “cost an arm and a leg”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.