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pound of flesh

Something which is owed and which will be hurtful or difficult to provide; a debt owed to someone who is merciless and demanding.

Etymology:

  • From Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, in which Antonio literally owes a pound of his flesh to the moneylender Shylock.
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Submitted on September 01, 2009

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Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to pound of flesh

pound sandneither fish, flesh, nor fowldon't be penny wise and pound foolishone fleshbecome one fleshpound for poundan ounce of prevention can be worth a p…in for a penny, in for a poundflesh outpound the pavementpound a beatmore than flesh can standneither fish nor fleshpound out

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