T-learning # Idiom
Speak Like a Native

daylight robbery

Choose the correct definition a, b or c.

a) overcharging for something

Well done ! That’s the right answer.

daylight robbery’ is a situation in which you are charged much more for something than you think you should have to pay.

French translation

du vol manifeste, de l’arnarque

How NOT to translate : *du vol en plein jour

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Examples in context

‘The Royal Mail sell-off plan is daylight robbery of our postal service

Come trade unionists, lefties inside and outside the Labour party, disillusioned Lib Dems, Ukippers, and any Tories still fond of the idea that there are some things – the "family silver", as old-school Conservative mythology would have it – that perhaps should not be handed to the private market. This wretched government is now selling off Royal Mail, with the aid of a syndicate of banks headed by those well-known guarantors of the public interest, Goldman Sachs and UBS. The financiers will take home around £30m ; over time, the rest of us will likely end up with a threadbare postal service, and the feeling that we were robbed, in broad daylight.’

The Guardian, 26 January 2014

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‘Network Rail bosses get £2m bonuses

Five Network Rail bosses will share £2m in bonuses if they hit performance targets as part of a new deal. The Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA), which represents 30,000 rail employees, had urged members to vote against it.

"This is daylight robbery of the taxpayer," said general secretary Manuel Cortes. "These executives are rewarding themselves for failure. Passengers will be furious having seen fares increase by 16% since 2010 and more big increases to come."’

BBC News, 23rd November 2013

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Everyday usage

It’s daylight robbery to charge that amount of money for a hotel room !

Are you really charging us that much ? It’s daylight robbery ! You should wear a mask and a striped jumper !

b) feeling unsafe

Sorry, wrong answer. Please try again.

c) hiding a secret

Sorry, wrong answer. Please try again.


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