k&k learn french 8 -
coûter la peau des fesses
Ever wondered what to exclaim when staring at stuff that costs more than a months wages in the windows of the Louis Vuitton store on the Champs Elysées? Well, in show 8, we give you something to say : "ça coûte la peau des fesses!" (coûter la peau des fesses)
Literal translation
It costs the skin off your bottom/butt
English meaning
It's very expensive / it costs a lot
English equivalent
It costs an arm and a leg
It costs the earth
French equivalent
Coûter la peau du dos (of the back) / des couilles (of the balls)
Coûter les yeux de la tête (the eyes of the head)
Frog's phrase
Un appartement à Paris, c'est vraiment trop trop cher. Ca coûte la peau des fesses!
Translation
An apartment in Paris is really just so expensive. It costs an arm and a leg!
Listen to our explanation of the phrase :
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show after
I would translate "couter les yeux de la tête" somehow more like "cost the eyes off the head" and not "of the head"
But maybe it is just a subconcious attempt to find some logic where there's none to be found :)