costar un ojo de la cara
Spanish
Etymology
Literally, “to cost an eye from the face”.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /kosˌtaɾ un ˌoxo de la ˈkaɾa/ [kosˌt̪aɾ ũn ˌo.xo ð̞e la ˈka.ɾa]
- Syllabification: cos‧tar un o‧jo de la ca‧ra
Verb
costar un ojo de la cara (first-person singular present cuesto un ojo de la cara, first-person singular preterite costé un ojo de la cara, past participle costado un ojo de la cara)
- (idiomatic) to cost a pretty penny, cost an arm and a leg
- Synonyms: costar los ojos de la cara, costar un huevo, costar un Perú
Usage notes
- To emphasise, it is possible to change the phrase to costar un ojo de la cara y parte del otro (cost an eye from the face and part of the other one)
Further reading
- “costar algo los ojos, o un ojo, de la cara”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024