pound of flesh
8
9.9
- idiom
- Informal
:
pago severo
- After the deal fell through, he insisted on getting his pound of flesh for the losses he incurred.
So he took his pound of flesh, you know, in reaction to these things.
- So he took his pound of flesh, you know, in reaction to these things.
- The IRS wants their pound of flesh when you sell something.
- So believe it or not, the police still wanted their pound of flesh out at me.
Examples
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This isn't about marriage; it's about a pound of flesh, and it never, ever stops.
Blog text (8) -
Lydia's not gonna back off until she gets her pound of flesh.
Fiction book (2000) -
How far do you go for a pound of flesh?
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But too many countries want their pound of flesh.
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And it is your own pound of flesh that I demand.
-
The IRS wants their pound of flesh when you sell something.
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Every person I ever wronged now felt free to come and take their pound of flesh.
-
They will have their pound of flesh one way or another.
Blog text (9) -
I wanted my pound of flesh at the end from all the suffering that we've gone through.
-
I demand my pound of flesh, and maybe a couple of heifers from Colorado.
Academic text (1992)
Antonyms
How Harsh
Surface Forms
Morphology
The idiomatic sense of demanding harsh repayment or punishment is not derivable from the literal constituents — 'pound' as a unit of weight and 'flesh' as bodily tissue — and the phrase relies on a literary/cultural reference (Shakespeare) rather than transparent composition. A B1 learner who knows the individual words but has not encountered the idiom would most likely interpret it literally and would not predict the metaphoric, punitive meaning.
Etymology
The expression pound of flesh comes from Shakespeare's play 'The Merchant of Venice'. In the play a moneylender demands a real pound of the borrower's flesh as payment, a shocking picture that explains why the phrase now means a 'harsh, unreasonable demand'.