American Idiom: cost an arm and a leg
Cost an arm and a leg – means very expensive or too expensive.
A working knowledge of frequently used idioms is essential in order to naturally communicate with Americans. Learn to speak English fluently with Poly Languages.
Watch the full video below to learn about the idiom, cost an arm and a leg.
Video Transcript
A week at any hotel in Beverly Hills can cost an arm and a leg. Everything is very expensive in Beverly Hills.
Cost an arm and a leg – means very expensive or too expensive. Here, an arm and a leg refers to a lot of money.
Here are example sentences :
I want to buy a house by the beach, but it may cost me an arm and a leg.
Sarah really wants to go to the concert. She’s willing to pay an arm and a leg for it.
Let’s do an exercise so that you can better remember the idiom.
For each question, replace a word or words in a sentence with the idiom so that the meaning of the sentence is not changed. You have five seconds per question.
Question 1:
Joseph bought a sports car. He paid a lot of money for it.
Joseph bought a sports car. He paid an arm and leg for it.
Question 2:
I’d really like to buy a new luxury car, but it may be too expensive.
I’d really like to buy a new luxury car, but it may cost an arm and a leg. You can also say, it may cost me an arm and a leg.
Practice makes perfect!
A working knowledge of frequently used idioms is essential in order to naturally communicate with Americans. Learn to speak English fluently with Poly Languages.
Cost an arm and a leg
More questions here!
Question 1:
He bought a new pair of Gucci shoes. It is very expensive.
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Question 2:
I’d love to buy a new car but I know it’s very expensive.
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