To be extremely expensive; to require a very high price or significant sacrifice to obtain something.
This American phrase emerged after World War II, possibly influenced by the very real cost of limbs lost in battle. The extreme nature of losing limbs made it a powerful metaphor for anything requiring an enormous sacrifice or payment.
The phrase's power comes from its reference to the most precious things we possess - our own body parts. It's darkly ironic that in our consumer culture, we use the language of physical dismemberment to describe mere financial expense!
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