大たい枚まいをはたく

Meanings

1

expression, godan verb (-ku)

spend a fortune; pay a high price

Idiomatic expression for spending a large sum of money, often with a sense of reluctance or that the amount is significant.

彼かれは新しん車しゃに大たい枚まいをはたいた。
He spent a fortune on a new car.
この絵えを手てに入いれるために大たい枚まいをはたいたよ。
I paid a high price to get this painting.

Written forms

大たい枚まいをはたく
Standard kanji spelling for the idiom.
大たい枚まいを叩はたく
Alternate kanji spelling using 叩く; both are used.

Kanji

大large, big
枚sheet of..., counter for flat thin objects or sheets
叩strike, beat, kow tow

Similar words

散さん財ざいする
散財する means to waste money or squander funds, often with a negative connotation of frivolous spending, while 大枚をはたく focuses on the large amount spent, not necessarily wastefully.
大たい金きんを払はらう
大金を払う is a more literal and neutral way to say 'pay a large sum of money', whereas 大枚をはたく is an idiomatic expression with a slightly more emphatic or colloquial feel.

Etymology

大枚 (たいまい) originally referred to a large, flat coin or a large sum of money. はたく (叩く) means to slap or strike, and in this idiom it figuratively means to spend money forcefully or in a large amount. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the phrase is conventionally associated with the image of slapping down a large sum of money.