coûter la peau du cul
What does “coûter la peau du cul” mean in English?
It means to cost a huge amount of money. The literal translation refers to a very high price, emphasizing how painful it is to pay.
Literally “cost the skin of the arse”
You'd use it in informal situations to express shock at a price, similar to saying something costs an arm and a leg. It's a bit stronger than just saying it’s expensive, often used to vent frustration.
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Related French words
avoir de la merde dans les yeux
3/5 · VulgarIt means to fail to see something obvious or to judge a situation poorly. The literal translation refers to having shit in your eyes, which emphasizes a lack of clarity or awareness.
avoir du cul
3/5 · VulgarIt means to be very lucky or to have good fortune. Literally, it translates to 'have arse.'
avoir la tête dans le cul
3/5 · VulgarIt means to feel groggy, exhausted, or hungover. The literal translation is 'have one's head in one's arse.'
chacun sa merde
3/5 · VulgarEveryone should deal with their own problems. It's a way of saying you’re not interested in someone else's issues.
About this data
Swear Atlas is a source-attested, AI-curated reference — not a native-speaker-certified dictionary. Meanings and the 1–5 Burn Rating are approximate editorial assessments that vary with context, region, tone and speaker. Inclusion of a word does not constitute endorsement of its use.
The literal gloss is a short editorial translation to show word-for-word sense, not an etymological claim.
“Sounds like” is an English-friendly approximation of how the word sounds, not an authoritative pronunciation. Where shown, the romanisation is a conventional Latin-script transliteration of the original spelling.
Term attested via Viddexa SafeText (MIT). Editorial content © Swear Atlas.