今日短語(yǔ)
在中世紀(jì)的英國(guó)，如果一個(gè)人沒(méi)有繳稅，那么他的鼻子就會(huì)被用刀刺穿一個(gè)洞以示懲罰。這正是 pay through the nose for something “通過(guò)鼻子支付”這個(gè)說(shuō)法最初的含義，之后被引申成“為某事物花大價(jià)錢，支付高出合理的費(fèi)用”。
例句
We went on vacation during the school holidays. Of course we had to pay through the nose for our tickets as they always put the prices up then.
If you order a good bottle of wine in a restaurant you really pay through the nose for it.
Some people don’t mind paying through the nose for brands they like.
請(qǐng)注意
另一個(gè)可以用來(lái)表示“花一大筆錢”的說(shuō)法是 an arm and a leg “一只胳膊和一條腿”，有時(shí)我們也說(shuō) pay an arm and a leg for something。如果我們需要“付出”一只胳膊或一條腿才能得到某物，那么“代價(jià)”顯然是極其高昂的。
例句
Fuel is so expensive these days. It costs an arm and a leg to fill up the car.
Never order water in a restaurant; it costs an arm and a leg.
