Today we’ll have a look at the fun French expression coûter les yeux de la tête. This expression means “to cost an arm and a leg” or “to cost a fortune”. The literal translation is: “to cost the eyes of the head”.
coûter les yeux de la tête
to cost an arm and a leg, to cost a fortune
Example sentences
For this first example sentence, the expression avoir les moyens translates literally to “to have the means” and means “to be able to afford”.
Le fromage français aux États-Unis coûte les yeux de la tête ! Je n’ai pas les moyens de l’acheter.
French cheese in the United States costs an arm and a leg. I can’t afford to buy it.
Je veux acheter une nouvelle voiture mais malheureusement ça coûte les yeux de la tête !
I want to buy a new car but unfortunately it cost a fortune!
La famille veut partir en vacances aux Maldives mais les billets d’avion coûtent les yeux de la tête !
The family wants to go on vacation to the Maldives but the plane tickets cost a fortune!
Synonymous expression
In French, there’s a synonymous expression for coûter les yeux de la tête: “Coûter la peau des fesses“. The literal translation of this expression is: “to cost the skin of the bottom”. Les fesses is slang for buttocks or bottom. This expression is stronger than coûter les yeux de la tête.
Origin
While the exact origin of this expression seems to be unknown, Linternaute.fr suggests that the attachment of importance or high value to the eyes is very clear. Here are some example sentences.
