Английский словарь американских идиом - pound of flesh

{n. phr.}, {literary} The maximum payment authorized by law. * /He had hoped that Peter would be lenient regarding the interest they had agreed on, but Peter demanded his full pound of flesh./ POUND OUT {v. phr.} 1. To play a piece of music very loudly on a percussion instrument. * /The boy was pounding out the tune "Mary had a little lamb" on the marimba./ 2. To flatten something with a hammer. * /The bodyshop uses special hammers to pound out the indentations in the bodies of cars./ 3. To produce a piece of writing on a typewriter in haste and without much care. * /She hurriedly pounded out a letter of recommendation for the foreign graduate student./