what do you want, blood?

9.9

A question said to show someone is asking for too much

idiom

Informal

: ¿qué quieres, amigo?

I can't believe he asked for a raise again! What do you want, blood?

Examples

She kept adding requests until he finally asked, 'what do you want, blood?'
After all I've given you, what do you want, blood?
If a simple apology isn't enough, what do you want, blood?
After all that work, he still complained. What do you want, blood?
After all I've done for you, what do you want, blood?
When he asked for more time, she snapped, 'what do you want, blood?'
After providing everything he needed, she yelled, 'what do you want, blood?'

Synonyms

to ask for the moon

vswhat do you want, blood?

Informal

1 7.6

To demand something that is impossible or too much

accuses someone angrily of making excessive demands in a rhetorical question

Antonyms

reasonable

302 2.2

A moderate amount or size that is not extreme

Surface Forms

what do you want, blood? main

Morphology

what + do + you + want, + blood?

This is a rhetorical hyperbolic question where 'blood' is used metaphorically to accuse someone of making extreme or unreasonable demands, so the intended pragmatic meaning is not directly derived from the literal words. A B1 learner who knows the constituents might guess exaggeration but would probably not reliably infer the specific accusatory sense without prior exposure or pragmatic knowledge.

Etymology

What do you want, blood? comes from a sharp image: if someone keeps asking for more, it is as if they are asking for another person's blood, meaning 'revenge' or very harsh punishment. So people say it to show someone is asking for too much.