highway robbery
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Compare Old English weġrēaf (“highway robbery”, literally “road-theft”).
Pronunciation
Audio (AU) (file)
Noun
highway robbery (countable and uncountable, plural highway robberies)
- (historical, literal) The act of robbing a traveler on a public road.
- (idiomatic) Said of excessive or exorbitant prices.
- They think they can charge $400 for a shirt? That's highway robbery.
Synonyms
- (robbing on a highway or road, obsolete): padding, high pad
- (the asking of an excessive or exorbitant price): daylight robbery, price gouging
Translations
The act of robbing on a public road
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The asking of an excessive or exorbitant price — see daylight robbery
See also
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