Cost an arm and a leg means to be extremely expensive. The idiom is an exaggeration people use to complain about a price that seems far too high, whether it is rent, repairs or tickets. Besides cost, it also works with pay and charge: pay an arm and a leg for something. The tone is informal; in an essay, write be very expensive instead.
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something + cost(s) + an arm and a leg; pay/charge + an arm and a leg (for something)
- Renting a flat in the city centre costs an arm and a leg, so we live in the suburbs.
- Fixing the car cost an arm and a leg, but it runs perfectly now.
- Hotels near the stadium charge an arm and a leg on match days.
What changed
First versionThe new phone costs a hand and a leg.
RevisionThe new phone costs an arm and a leg.
Hand and arm are easy to mix up, but the idiom has a fixed form: an arm and a leg. Arm also needs the article an in front of it. Nothing else in the sentence was changed.
Cost an arm and a leg is about a high price, while pay through the nose adds a sense of unfairness: you paid more than something was worth. We paid through the nose for a tiny room near the station. If you do not need the emotion, plain expensive is enough.
Your turn
We wanted to fly to Bali in August, but the tickets ___, so we went camping in the mountains instead.
Show the answer
cost an arm and a leg — They gave up on Bali and went camping in the mountains instead, so the tickets must have been far too expensive: cost an arm and a leg. Cost next to nothing means almost free, and then there would have been no reason to change their plans.
Write about a purchase or service that cost you a lot of money. Say what it was and why you paid for it anyway.
My new laptop cost an arm and a leg, but I bought it because I edit videos for work every day.
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