Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A debt harshly insisted upon.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun idiomatic Something which is
owed and which will behurtful ordifficult toprovide ; adebt owed to someone who ismerciless anddemanding .
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[From Antonio's debt to Shylock in The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
From Shakepeare's The Merchant of Venice, in which Antonio literally owes a pound of his flesh to the moneylender Shylock.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word pound of flesh.
Examples
Sorry, no example sentences found.
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.