an arm and a leg
Related to an arm and a leg: break one's back, believe one's eyes
an arm and a leg
slang A lot of money. College tuitions cost an arm and leg nowadays. I'm sick of paying an arm and a leg for rent in this town.
See also: and, arm, leg
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.
arm and a leg
An exorbitant amount of money, as in These resort hotels charge an arm and a leg for a decent meal, or Fixing the car is going to cost an arm and a leg. According to Eric Partridge, this hyperbolic idiom, which is always used in conjunction with verbs such as "cost," "charge," or "pay," and became widely known from the 1930s on, probably came from the 19th-century American criminal slang phrase, if it takes a leg (that is, even at the cost of a leg), to express desperate determination.
See also: and, arm, leg
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
an arm and a leg
Slang An excessively high price: a cruise that cost an arm and a leg.
See also: and, arm, leg
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition.
- arm and a leg
- give an arm and a leg (for something)
- give an arm and a leg for
- give an arm and a leg for something
- leg
- stroll
- arm in arm
- twist somebody's arm
- twist someone’s arm
- twist someone's arm