/kosˈtare un ˈɔkkjo ˈdella ˈtɛsta/ lit. ‘to cost an eye of the head’
Italian idiom, everyday. To cost a huge amount of money.
Draft Not yet checked by a native Italian speaker.
How do people use Costare un occhio della testa
?
Everyday Italian, the standard way to complain about a price. It works with costare (“costa un occhio della testa”) and with paying or spending, and Treccani gives “ho pagato un occhio” and “ho speso un occhio” as shorter forms. It’s always the thing that costs, so you’d say “la casa mi è costata un occhio della testa”.
Also said costare un occhio, pagare un occhio della testa
Costare un occhio della testa
in real sentences
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Costa un occhio della testa.
It costs an arm and a leg.
Tatoeba, sentence by Guybrush88, translation by CM, CC BY 2.0 FR
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Il nuovo tablet costa un occhio della testa.
The new tablet costs an arm and a leg.
Tatoeba, sentence by Guybrush88, translation by hayastan, CC BY 2.0 FR
Where does Costare un occhio della testa
come from?
Treccani places it among phrases that treat sight as the most precious thing a person has, next to “caro come la luce degli occhi” (dear as the light of your eyes) and “scommettere un occhio della testa” (to bet an eye of your head). So the price is something you’d have to give an eye for. English Wiktionary compares it with French “coûter les yeux de la tête”, and we found no first recorded date for either.
Mistakes learners make with Costare un occhio della testa
Copying the French plural. French says “les yeux de la tête”, but Italian takes one eye: “un occhio della testa”, never “gli occhi della testa”.
Other Italian idioms like Costare un occhio della testa
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