Meaning
An extremely large sum of money, far more than something is worth or more than an ordinary person could pay. Almost always used hyperbolically about prices, fees, salaries, or costs, as in 'cost a king's ransom'. Informal hyperbole, usually with a hint of complaint about expense. Regional use: General English.
Origin
The phrase began literally in medieval warfare, where captured nobles were ransomed according to rank and a captured king commanded the highest price of all. The most famous case is Richard I of England, captured in 1192 and freed for a vast sum of silver that England raised through special taxation; the word 'ransom' itself entered English in the early fourteenth century. The figurative use is surprisingly old: The Phrase Finder's earliest citation is from 1525, in the text 'Talis Fyve Bestes' ('A kyngis ransoun it was worth & maire'), showing that within a few centuries of the great royal ransoms the phrase was already a byword for any enormous value. No single ransom 'created' the idiom; the literal practice of ransoming kings fed it over centuries.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- a king's ransom
- cost a king's ransom
- pay a king's ransom
- worth a king's ransom
Usage Examples
- Tickets for the final were going for a king's ransom on resale sites.
- She paid a king's ransom for a tiny flat because it overlooked the park.
- Lawyers charge a king's ransom for even a short consultation in this city.