highway robbery
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun: 1. The crime of robbing travelers on a public road: Historically, this refers to the act of stopping and stealing from people traveling on a road. 2. A grossly excessive price or charge: A figurative and common modern usage meaning a price that is so unfairly high it feels like being robbed.
Usage Examples
- Literal meaning (historical/crime):
- In the 18th century, highway robbery was a common danger for stagecoach passengers.
- Figurative meaning (exorbitant price):
- Ten dollars for a cup of coffee? That's highway robbery!
- The mechanic charged me five hundred dollars to change a tire; it was pure highway robbery.
Advanced Usage
- The term is almost always used in the figurative sense in modern conversation to express outrage or disbelief at a price.
- It functions as a predicate noun, often following the verb "to be" (e.g., "That is highway robbery").
Variants and Related Words
- Robbery (n.): The general crime of taking property unlawfully.
- Daylight robbery (n., chiefly British): A synonym for the figurative meaning of an exorbitant price.
- Overcharge (v./n.): To charge too high a price; the price itself.
Synonyms
- Exorbitant price
- Rip-off (informal)
- Gouging
- Extortionate charge
Related Idioms
- To pay through the nose: To pay an excessively high price for something.
- We paid through the nose for those concert tickets.
- A king's ransom: A very large amount of money.
- That designer handbag costs a king's ransom.
Noun
- robbery of travellers on or near a public road
- an exorbitant price
- what they are asking for gas these days is highway robbery