maksaa maltaita

Finnish

Etymology

Literally "to cost malt(s)". Malted grains could once upon a time be used to pay taxes.

Verb

maksaa maltaita

1. (idiomatic) to cost an arm and a leg, to cost the earth (to be a huge expense)

   Kaupungin johdon tyhmyys maksaa meille maltaita.

   The dumbness of the city management costs us the earth.

Conjugation

See maksaa. maltaita is in the plural number and in the partitive case, but is inflected in the genitive in action nouns: see Appendix:Finnish verb phrases.

Synonyms

• maksaa mansikoita