king's ransom

noun

1. an extremely large amount of money.

   The painting was sold for a king's ransom.

Idioms and Phrases

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]

Example Sentences

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

I wished I could just hide in the back, but Samir had made a show of thanking his “good and faithful Monkey, who was well worth the king’s ransom of six bolts of silk.”

From Literature

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

Goodness knows television companies and fans have paid a king's ransom for that privilege.

From BBC