"pound of flesh" meaning in English

{
  "etymology_text": "From Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, in which Antonio literally owes a pound of his flesh to the moneylender Shylock.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "pounds of flesh",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "pounds of flesh"
      },
      "expansion": "pound of flesh (plural pounds of flesh)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with language name categories using raw markup",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1918, Willa Cather, The Song of the Lark, part 5, ch. 1",
          "text": "You must be under the impression that I'm one of these damned New England sharks that get their pound of flesh off the widow and orphan. If you're a little short, sign a note.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1998, “Celebrity Skin”, performed by Hole",
          "text": "When I wake up in my makeup / It's too early for that dress / Wilted and faded somewhere in Hollywood / I'm glad I came here with your pound of flesh",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012 September 22, “Indian Reform: At Last”, in The Economist",
          "text": "[…] [Trinamool] Congress [Party] will need to strike deals with other regional allies, such as Mulayam Singh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh. Their pound of flesh will be anti-reform, too.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Something which is owed and which will be hurtful or difficult to provide; a debt owed to someone who is merciless and demanding."
      ],
      "id": "en-pound_of_flesh-en-noun-f~B36jfM",
      "links": [
        [
          "owe",
          "owe"
        ],
        [
          "hurtful",
          "hurtful"
        ],
        [
          "difficult",
          "difficult"
        ],
        [
          "provide",
          "provide"
        ],
        [
          "debt",
          "debt"
        ],
        [
          "merciless",
          "merciless"
        ],
        [
          "demanding",
          "demanding"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) Something which is owed and which will be hurtful or difficult to provide; a debt owed to someone who is merciless and demanding."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "The Merchant of Venice"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-pound of flesh.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/06/En-au-pound_of_flesh.ogg/En-au-pound_of_flesh.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/En-au-pound_of_flesh.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "pound of flesh"
}

{
  "etymology_text": "From Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, in which Antonio literally owes a pound of his flesh to the moneylender Shylock.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "pounds of flesh",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "pounds of flesh"
      },
      "expansion": "pound of flesh (plural pounds of flesh)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English countable nouns",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English entries with language name categories using raw markup",
        "English idioms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English nouns",
        "English terms first attested in Shakespeare",
        "English terms with audio links",
        "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1918, Willa Cather, The Song of the Lark, part 5, ch. 1",
          "text": "You must be under the impression that I'm one of these damned New England sharks that get their pound of flesh off the widow and orphan. If you're a little short, sign a note.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1998, “Celebrity Skin”, performed by Hole",
          "text": "When I wake up in my makeup / It's too early for that dress / Wilted and faded somewhere in Hollywood / I'm glad I came here with your pound of flesh",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2012 September 22, “Indian Reform: At Last”, in The Economist",
          "text": "[…] [Trinamool] Congress [Party] will need to strike deals with other regional allies, such as Mulayam Singh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh. Their pound of flesh will be anti-reform, too.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Something which is owed and which will be hurtful or difficult to provide; a debt owed to someone who is merciless and demanding."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "owe",
          "owe"
        ],
        [
          "hurtful",
          "hurtful"
        ],
        [
          "difficult",
          "difficult"
        ],
        [
          "provide",
          "provide"
        ],
        [
          "debt",
          "debt"
        ],
        [
          "merciless",
          "merciless"
        ],
        [
          "demanding",
          "demanding"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) Something which is owed and which will be hurtful or difficult to provide; a debt owed to someone who is merciless and demanding."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "wikipedia": [
        "The Merchant of Venice"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-pound of flesh.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/0/06/En-au-pound_of_flesh.ogg/En-au-pound_of_flesh.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/En-au-pound_of_flesh.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "pound of flesh"
}