king's ransom

American  

noun

1. an extremely large amount of money.

   The painting was sold for a king's ransom.

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king's ransom Idioms  

1. A huge sum of money, as in That handmade rug must have cost a king's ransom. This metaphoric expression originally referred to the sum required to release a king from captivity. [Late 1400s]

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Example Sentences

At least $50 million for the freedom of an Emirati sheikh: that is the king's ransom paid two weeks ago to jihadists linked to Al-Qaeda who are pushing to topple the Malian government and impose Islamic law.

From Barron's

The lack of incisiveness in Martin's team is remarkable for a set of players put together for a relative king's ransom.

From BBC

Kurosawa’s “High and Low” was based on the 1959 Ed McBain cop novel “King’s Ransom,” about a moral dilemma that becomes an identity crisis for a wealthy man.

From Los Angeles Times

Kurosawa’s “High and Low,” released in 1963 and starring Toshiro Mifune, was adapted from the Ed McBain novel “King’s Ransom.”

From Seattle Times

He worked long hours as a TV editor; he wasn’t rich, but had no debt and earned what seemed to me then like a king’s ransom: something like a grand a week.

From New York Times