highway robbery
highway robbery {n. phr.}
1. A hold-up of or theft from a person committed on an open road or street usually by an armed man.
Highway robbery was common in England in Shakespeare's day.
2. An extremely high price or charge; a profiteer's excessive charge.
To someone from a small town, the prices of meals and theater tickets in New York often seem to he highway robbery.
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Source: A Dictionary of American Idioms