pound of flesh
American Heritage Dictionary:
Top
pound of flesh
n., pl., pounds of flesh.
A debt harshly insisted upon.
[From Antonio's debt to Shylock in by William Shakespeare.]
American Heritage Dictionary of Idioms:
Top
pound of flesh
A debt whose payment is harshly insisted on, as in The other members of the cartel all want their pound of flesh from Brazil. This expression alludes to the scene in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (4:1) where the moneylender Shylock demands the pound of flesh promised him in payment for a loan, and Portia responds that he may have it but without an ounce of blood (since blood was not promised). [c. 1600]
Best of Web:
Top
pound of flesh
Some good "pound of flesh" pages on the web:
Post a question - any question - to the WikiAnswers community:
Copyrights:
American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Read more
Mentioned in
pound
(Idiom)
flesh
(Idiom)
A Pound of Flesh: The Bob Newhart Show (TV Episode)
(1975 Comedy TV Episode)
Bahama Hustle
(Action Film)
The Merchant of Venice
(1980 Film)
» More