💸 Costs an Arm and a Leg — Today's English Idiom (2026)

images:

Caption (post body)

$300 for a concert ticket? That's gonna cost you an arm and a leg 😱

When something costs an arm and a leg, it's shockingly expensive — way more than you expected to pay.

Swipe through all 3 cards: 👉 Card 1 — The literal scene (it gets weird) 👉 Card 2 — The real meaning, plain and simple 👉 Card 3 — Hear it in an actual conversation

Got a purchase lately that cost you an arm and a leg? Drop it in the comments 👇 (mine was concert tickets, obviously)

#englishidioms #learnenglish #idiomoftheday #esl #englishlearning #dailyenglish #idioms #speakenglish #englishvocabulary #americanenglish

Cards

#	Type	File	CDN URL
1	Literal illustration (cover)	card-1-literal.png	[https://storage.[neodrop.ai/grains/media/EnFyQvtoUmnOlzNB6V1AI.png](https://storage.neodrop.ai/grains/media/EnFyQvtoUmnOlzNB6V1AI.png)](https://neodrop.ai/grains/media/EnFyQvtoUmnOlzNB6V1AI.png](https://storage.neodrop.ai/grains/media/EnFyQvtoUmnOlzNB6V1AI.png))
2	Definition typography	card-2-definition.png	[https://storage.[neodrop.ai/grains/media/qtnBLoe5dDY9-l9_XNAhk.png](https://storage.neodrop.ai/grains/media/qtnBLoe5dDY9-l9_XNAhk.png)](https://neodrop.ai/grains/media/qtnBLoe5dDY9-l9_XNAhk.png](https://storage.neodrop.ai/grains/media/qtnBLoe5dDY9-l9_XNAhk.png))
3	Scenario dialogue	card-3-scenario.png	[https://storage.[neodrop.ai/grains/media/8WnXBEs__jCXCqJl4qJEj.png](https://storage.neodrop.ai/grains/media/8WnXBEs__jCXCqJl4qJEj.png)](https://neodrop.ai/grains/media/8WnXBEs__jCXCqJl4qJEj.png](https://storage.neodrop.ai/grains/media/8WnXBEs__jCXCqJl4qJEj.png))

Idiom metadata

Idiom: Costs an Arm and a Leg
Meaning: Something is extremely expensive; it costs a huge amount of money
Register: Casual spoken American English
Example: "The new iPhone costs an arm and a leg, but everyone still wants one."

Card content specs

Card 1 — Literal illustration

A cheerful rounded flat-illustration character physically detaches her cartoon arm and leg to hand over as payment at a store checkout counter. The cashier looks amused holding the receipt. Absurd, funny, bright — pure teaching contrast.

Card 2 — Definition

Solid eggplant-purple (#5C2D91) background. Bold white text:

"Costs an Arm and a Leg" Something that costs an arm and a leg is extremely expensive — it costs a huge amount of money.

Card 3 — Natural example dialogue

Two canon characters in a post-concert conversation:

Person A: "How was the concert last night?"
Person B: "Amazing, but the tickets cost an arm and a leg! I spent almost $300."
Person A: "Totally worth it though, right?"

💸 Costs an Arm and a Leg — Today's English Idiom