highway robbery

American  

noun

1. robbery committed on a highway against travelers, as by a highwayman.

2. Informal. a price or fee that is unreasonably high; exorbitant charge.

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highway robbery British  

noun

1. informal blatant overcharging

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highway robbery Idioms  

1. The exaction of an exorbitantly high price or fee. For example, You paid ten dollars for that meat? That's highway robbery. This term, used figuratively since the late 1800s, alludes to literal robbery of travelers on or near a public road.

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Other Word Forms

• highway robber noun

Etymology

Origin of highway robbery

First recorded in 1770–80

Example Sentences

Empyreal’s lawsuit describes the traffic stops of their trucks as “highway robberies” by government agents seeking to pad their budgets with forfeiture money.

From Los Angeles Times

Larsson pulled off the equivalent of highway robbery when he stood in the crease after a Driedger kick save and used his stick to stop a rebound shot headed into a vacated net.

From Seattle Times

“What you have described is a textbook case of highway robbery,” said Bullard, the author and Texas Southern University professor.

From Washington Post

“The price started inching up. We could deal with that. Then this. At that price, in our opinion, it’s highway robbery.”

From New York Times

I charged a quarter a slice — highway robbery! — and most of my transactions were uneventful.

From New York Times