Pound of flesh
Meaning
A harsh, exact, and often cruel repayment or penalty that is demanded and insisted upon, regardless of the suffering it causes.
Origin
The phrase "pound of flesh" springs directly from William Shakespeare's chilling 16th-century play, The Merchant of Venice. In this dramatic tale, the vengeful moneylender Shylock agrees to lend money to Antonio, a merchant, under one horrific condition: if the loan is not repaid by the agreed date, Shylock will be entitled to literally carve a "pound of flesh" from Antonio's body. When Antonio defaults, Shylock coldly insists on the bond's exact terms in court, refusing all offers of monetary compensation. This relentless, literal demand for a portion of the merchant's living body solidified the phrase in the English language as a powerful metaphor for a ruthless and unforgiving debt that must be paid, no matter the cost.
Examples
- The landlord demanded his pound of flesh from the struggling tenant, insisting on the full rent despite her recent job loss.
- After years of funding the project, the investors were finally ready to extract their pound of flesh, expecting a significant return on their investment.