pound of flesh

noun phrase

: a payment or penalty exacted to fulfill a deal or punishment

loan sharks taking their pound of flesh

Examples of pound of flesh in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But his big men’s efforts have not come without its pound of flesh or occasional foul troubles. —Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel, 20 Mar. 2025

Cooper Stearns getting his pound of flesh was to be expected. —Martin Henderson, Orange County Register, 6 Feb. 2025

And Shakespeare’s Shylock received nothing for demanding a pound of flesh. —Bruce Fein, Baltimore Sun, 5 Jan. 2025

Wednesday's cartoons - thoughts and prayers, pound of flesh, and more Newsletter sign up By The Week US published 3 hours ago Subscribe to The Week Escape your echo chamber. —The Week Us, theweek, 18 Dec. 2024

The Panthers got their pound of flesh by routing Bunnell, 41-13, in the Class M semifinals and went on to beat Windsor for their fourth CIAC state title. —Ned Griffen, Hartford Courant, 16 Dec. 2024

The blood lust motivating a retrial is real and the state will once again seek their pound of flesh. —San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Feb. 2024

The result has been an unmitigated disaster for animals: more animals in more places are confined in restrictive conditions utterly unlike their natural environments and are pushed beyond their physiological limits to produce ever-greater numbers of eggs, gallons of milk, and pounds of flesh. —Miyun Park, Foreign Affairs, 13 Feb. 2012

Viewers will have their pound of flesh, whether reality stars are willing or not. —Megan Farokhmanesh, WIRED, 9 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1827, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for pound of flesh

• gilgamesh
• afresh
• horseflesh
• refresh
• creche
• fresh
• lesch
• mesh
• resh
• thresh