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- DictionaryOne's pound of flesh
- ▪ something one is strictly or legally entitled to, but which it is ruthless or inhuman to demand
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Meaning of Pound of Flesh. Something that is owed needs to be paid back at every cost. Shakespeare has coined this phrase in a figurative way, which refers to a lawful but unreasonable recompense during the late 18th century.
The meaning of POUND OF FLESH is a payment or penalty exacted to fulfill a deal or punishment. How to use pound of flesh in a sentence.
POUND OF FLESH definition: 1. something that you have the right to receive but is unreasonable to demand from someone 2…. Learn more.
Someone demanding their pound of flesh is saying that they are determined to get what is theirs by right, no matter how it may affect anyone else and regardless of the consequences.
If you say that someone demands their pound of flesh, you mean that they insist on getting something they are entitled to, even though it may cause distress to the person it is demanded from.
pound of flesh. A debt or punishment, especially a cruel or unreasonable one, that is harshly insisted upon. An allusion to Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, in which the moneylender Shylock demands he be paid the pound of flesh promised as collateral for a loan.
What’s the Meaning of Pound of Flesh? The expression a pound of flesh describes a ruthless or unreasonable demand often made at great personal cost or suffering to the person expected to fulfill it.
Pound of flesh definition: something that is one's legal right but is an unreasonable demand (esp in the phrase to have one's pound of flesh). See examples of POUND OF FLESH used in a sentence.
A Pound of Flesh Meaning. Definition: Payment that is owed, which may be collected in a cruel or vengeful way. Origin of A Pound of Flesh. This expression comes from one of the works of the English playwright William Shakespeare. It appears in his play Merchant of Venice, from the year 1596.
pound of flesh phrase [ usu poss PHR ] If you say that someone demands their pound of flesh , you mean that they insist on getting something they are entitled to, even though it may cause distress to the person it is demanded from.
