To cost an arm and a leg

Joshua:	Holidays are just not what they used to be.
Emily:	What do you mean?
Joshua:	Oh Emily, I think you know exactly what I mean. On the outside, they may look similar, but I’m afraid people’s priorities have caused some holidays to lose their meaning.
Emily:	Ah, I bet you’re going to discuss American consumerism.
Joshua:	Tell you what. Let’s play a game.
Emily:	Ok, let’s do it.
Joshua:	The name of the game is: Word association. For the first round, I want you to pretend that you’re in the 1950’s. Think… the height of the American dream, like a Norman Rockwell painting. Ready?
Emily:	Sounds simple enough.
Joshua:	First one: ¡Christmas!
Emily:	A big family dinner, a beautiful Christmas tree, carolers.
Joshua:	Ok. Next one: Independence Day.
Emily:	Fireworks, concerts, barbecues.
Joshua:	Halloween?
Emily:	Kids in costumes, trick or treating, and candy. Lots of candy.
Joshua:	Ok now fast forward to today and let’s play again. Christmas.
Emily:	Shopping for gifts for the entire family, waiting in line overnight to get the latest gadget...
Joshua:	Halloween?
Emily:	Buying enough candy for the entire neighborhood, hunting for the perfect costume that no one’s ever seen before, and...
Joshua:	Ha! You see? These days, the one thing that ties all holidays in the US together is that they cost an arm and a leg. It used to be about family, celebrating a tradition... Now, it’s all about spending.
Emily:	OK, I see your point. But Josh, you’re saying this as if you’d been alive in the 50s. Things haven’t changed that much since you were a child, have they?
Joshua:	Oh, but they have. Take Halloween for example. When I was a kid, my mom and dad used to make costumes for me.
Emily:	Ah, yes, I have such fond memories of homemade costumes. One year I was a ghost, another year I was a pirate...
Joshua:	But now people expect you to dress in the latest, and trendiest outfits. And everything costs an arm and a leg.
Emily:	Oh come on, people still make homemade costumes and they can be very creative!
Joshua:	Then how do you explain this? The Halloween industry - costumes, decorations, candy sales - has higher profits every year. In 2016, for example, it topped $8 billion dollars!
Emily:	Wow, that’s a staggering figure. I had no idea people were spending that much on Halloween!
Joshua:	You should see the party I go to every year. It always feels like a competition for the best costume. Last year, someone came dressed as Marie Antoinette, with her own guillotine! There were also three people together in one costume: a headless horseman! Two people were the horse, and one was the horseman! It was amazing and must have cost them an arm and a leg.
Emily:	Ah, so you’re worried about what to wear this year?
Joshua:	Don’t get me wrong, I love Halloween, I just don’t want to go broke this year.
Emily:	Well you don’t have to! Just make it yourself! You can create something that’s clever, impressive, unique, and won’t cost an arm and a leg!
Joshua:	Ha. Ha. Emily, I can’t just get an old white bed sheet, cut two holes in it for eyes, throw it over my head, and call myself a ghost.
Emily:	Too cliché for you? Here’s something a little quirky, and just as cheap.
Joshua:	I’m listening...
Emily:	Years ago, I attached two clear plastic shower curtains, cut out some holes to breathe and declared myself an amoeba! How’s that for being creative? I think I still have it, if you want to borrow it!

To cost an arm and a leg

Ask yourself: Could you put a price on one of your body parts? An eye? An ear? An arm or a leg? This phrase comments on the relative value of a thing by comparing it to what many would consider to be priceless: an arm and a leg. It’s an exaggeration, of course, and it is used to express that something is excessively expensive, and more than somebody would want to pay for something.

The origins of this expression are unclear. One theory is that in the 1700s, painters would charge for their work based on the number of hands, arms, and legs shown in the painting. Sometimes, a person would pose with only one arm or leg showing, or with a hand in their pocket, requiring less work on behalf of the artist. By the same logic, if a subject posed showing all of their limbs, the painting would require more time and effort to produce. Thus, one could say that the more complicated expensive painting “cost an arm and a leg.”

Another theory is that this phrase came from another expression that originated during the same time period: “I’d give my right arm for something.” With this phrase, the speaker expresses how badly they want something by dramatically suggesting that they would give up a body part for it.

Finally, some say it originated during the great wars of the early 19^th and 20^th centuries. In this context, this phrase takes on a more serious and literal meaning. Many soldiers were severely injured in battle, often coming home with lost extremities. We could say that war cost them their arms and their legs.

Example 1:

That new car is going to cost me an arm and a leg.

Example 2:

I’m tired of paying an arm and a leg every time I fill up my gas tank. The price of gas is getting much too high.”

Example 3 (Incorrect Example):

Next year, I want to pay an arm and a leg and go on an expensive vacation. ¿Doesn’t that sound nice?