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
Access To Capital Businesses also need capital, but securing financing through traditional channels often involves lengthy approval processes, high fees and multiple intermediaries—a pound of flesh, in other words.
—
Art Malkov, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
In response, governors of Democratic states have threatened to take their own pound of flesh, with California's Gavin Newsom, New York's Kathy Hochul, and Illinois' JB Pritzker all promising to redraw their own states' already-small Republican districts if Texas goes ahead.
—Amanda Castro
hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
The Paramount Global experience shows that will come only after Trump exacts his pound of flesh.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 9 July 2025
But watching two icons of the ’90s and early aughts duke it out over a bloody pound of flesh?
—Abby Monteil, Them., 28 Mar. 2025
The film certainly cost me a pound of flesh, but gave me a ton of career.
—Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
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Art Malkov, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
In response, governors of Democratic states have threatened to take their own pound of flesh, with California's Gavin Newsom, New York's Kathy Hochul, and Illinois' JB Pritzker all promising to redraw their own states' already-small Republican districts if Texas goes ahead.
—Amanda Castro
hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
The Paramount Global experience shows that will come only after Trump exacts his pound of flesh.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 9 July 2025
But watching two icons of the ’90s and early aughts duke it out over a bloody pound of flesh?
—Abby Monteil, Them., 28 Mar. 2025
The film certainly cost me a pound of flesh, but gave me a ton of career.
—Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Pound of flesh.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pound%20of%20flesh. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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