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What does Costes and Arm and Leg mean in English?

What does Costes and Arm and Leg mean in English?

As an English teacher, one of my favorite things is teaching English. idioms. Idioms are expressions that we say in English, where the meaning of the expression is different from the actual words that make up the expression.

A very clear example is the phrase “it is raining heavily”. A new English learner who has never heard this sentence before might first imagine cats and dogs falling from the sky, and they would be confused! Your thought process could go something like this. Be “rain”. Be “cats and dogs”. But I have no idea what they are saying! And this is the most interesting of the expressions and idioms in English. In reality, raining cats and dogs means that it is raining a lot or it is raining a lot.

And here’s a funny idiom. In fact, it is one of my favorite idioms of all time. And that saying is this: “cost and arm and leg.” Hey?

Actually, the meaning here is very easy to understand once it is explained to you. The meaning of this phrase, when we say it, is to say that something is extremely expensive.

If you really want something, there is always a cost, right? So think of something you really want. Would you trade your arm and leg for him? Probably not. That would be too “expensive” for you because you would never be able to use your arm or leg again. So the cost is very high.

So we say something it costs an arm and a leg when it is expensive. Very expensive.

Example sentences:

Living in San Francisco costs an arm and a leg.

Gas prices have gone up a lot, now it costs an arm and a leg just to fill my gas tank.

I wanted to live in Paris, but it costs an arm and a leg to live there, so I never moved there.

Look, at first you didn’t understand the meaning, but now you do, after a simple explanation. This is a very common phrase used by English speakers. And the downside is that most English learners will never learn this phrase because English in textbooks is completely different from real, spoken English. This is just one of countless phrases that you can only learn outside of a textbook, by speaking to a native English speaker.

What are some idioms (sayings) in your native language and what do they mean (roughly) in English? Feel free to leave a comment below. Also, have you ever heard a phrase in English that you don’t understand? Especially when you know the meanings of each world, but not the full meaning of the expression? Please comment in the comment box and I’ll be back to answer all your questions.

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Let’s go over with two quick questions:

1) What does “it’s raining cats and dogs” mean?

in. It’s dark outside

B. It is raining a lot

vs. Dogs and cats fall from the sky

2) Food costs an arm and a leg. What does that mean?

a) Food is expensive

b) Food is free

c) Food tastes delicious

Answers: 1) b, 2) a

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