一个有趣的英文表达：king’s ransom

今天Will偶然看到一则Google AdSense的Banner（横幅）广告，里面有这么一个有趣的句子：There could be a king’s ransom up for grabs… 你知道这里的king’s ransom是什么意思吗？难道是其字面意思所表达的”国王的赎金”？好吧，TheFreeDictionary对这个英语表达进行了简明的释义，并介绍了它的由来：Fig. a great deal of money. (To pay an amount as large as one might have to pay to get back a king held for ransom. *Typically: cost ~; pay ~; spend~.) 这段话的意思是说：该短语是个形象化的说法，指大笔钱财。就好比如果要赎回一位被人掳走的国王，你必定得支付天价赎金。典型的搭配动词包括：cost, pay, spend。参考英文例句：She was paid a king’s ransom for a five-minute appearance in the film. （她在电影里5分钟的出镜，获得了巨额片酬。）最后，按照TFD的说法，king’s ransom这个短语主要出现在英式英语中哦。