daylight robbery

British

noun

informal blatant overcharging

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

daylight robbery Idioms

Charging exorbitant prices, as in The amount you're asking for this couch is daylight robbery. [Mid-1900s] Also see highway robbery.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Management said the Louvre, which was the victim of an embarrassing daylight robbery on October 19, would open "as normal" on Friday.

From Barron's • Dec. 19, 2025

The embassy called Washington's behaviour "daylight robbery" and "gangster," demanding it provide a formal apology and compensation and arrest and extradite the raiders.

From Reuters • Apr. 3, 2023

Meanwhile, the Sun accuses other airlines of "daylight robbery" in hiking the prices for replacement flights.

From BBC • Sep. 24, 2019

Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles said the analysis "shows how town halls are committing daylight robbery by ripping off drivers with exorbitant parking charges".

From BBC • Dec. 12, 2014

"After that rascal, Rogers!" cried Dave Darrin, aghast at the boldness of this daylight robbery.

From Dave Darrin at Vera Cruz by Hancock, H. Irving (Harrie Irving)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023