A pretty penny - 12 February 2010 +bonus idiom

[Tongchan Pratum]

A pretty penny*
If something costs a pretty penny, it is very expensive.
*penny: a small denomination of money, equal to 1/100 of a dollar, for example.

Example:
Jason: I bought a new computer today. It has all the bells and whistles**. It costs me about 70,000 baht.
Bill: 70,000 baht! Wow! That's a pretty penny.

*Bonus Idiom:
Bells and Whistles: features or capabilities, some of which are unnecessary.

Example:
Ben: I heard that Jason spent 70,000 baht for a computer. He told me it has 32GB RAM, three operating systems, huge stereo speakers, and many other features.
Jerry: Ha! Jason must really like bells and whistles, because he only uses the computer to send and receive email