pound of flesh

noun

1. something that is one's legal right but is an unreasonable demand (esp in the phrase to have one's pound of flesh )

pound of flesh

¹

1. Creditors who insist on having their “pound of flesh” are those who cruelly demand the repayment of a debt, no matter how much suffering it will cost the debtor: “The bank will have its pound of flesh; it is going to foreclose on our mortgage and force us to sell our home.” The expression is from The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare.

pound of flesh

²

1. A phrase from the play The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare. The moneylender Shylock demands the flesh of the “merchant of Venice,” Antonio, under a provision in their contract. Shylock never gets the pound of flesh, however, because the character Portia discovers a point of law that overrides the contract: Shylock is forbidden to shed any blood in getting the flesh from Antonio's body.

People who cruelly or unreasonably insist on their rights are said to be demanding their “pound of flesh.”

Word History and Origins

Origin of pound of flesh¹

from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (1596), Act IV, scene i

Idioms and Phrases

A debt whose payment is harshly insisted on, as in The other members of the cartel all want their pound of flesh from Brazil. This expression alludes to the scene in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice (4:1) where the moneylender Shylock demands the pound of flesh promised him in payment for a loan, and Portia responds that he may have it but without an ounce of blood (since blood was not promised). [c. 1600]

Example Sentences

“There is a difference between a Harvard and a UCLA, or UC Berkeley or UC San Diego or University of Michigan,” he said, and if the president managed to extract his pound of flesh, “it would bankrupt the No. 1 public university in the United States.”

From Los Angeles Times

If you’ve been outside enjoying the last bit of pleasant summer weather before August demands its pound of flesh, you might have missed a days-long online debate about the least revered tracks in history.

From Salon

Although the NFL is known for taking a pound of flesh at every opportunity, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has signaled he will give careful consideration before making any changes.

From Los Angeles Times

He did not have the authority to prevent the calamitous collapse of Lehman Brothers, and even after Congress authorized unprecedented executive power with the $700-billion Troubled Asset Relief Program and Newsweek dubbed him King Henry, pundits and citizens alike complained that we weren’t extracting a sufficient pound of flesh for the assistance the George W. Bush administration provided to the banks, whose flawed risk management was a root cause of the crisis.

From Los Angeles Times

The past always, always, always returns, looking for its pound of flesh.

From Slate