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Cost an arm and a leg

Posted by Bruce Kahl on June 19, 2007

In Reply to: Cost an arm and a leg posted by Don Crowder on June 19, 2007

: I have heard that the phrase "cost an arm and a leg" derived from the cost of portraits in the colonial days. Painters would charge more according to how many limbs (arms or legs) were in the painting. Could you clarify?

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