princely sums
Extravagant financial outlays
Princely sums are impressively large amounts of money—the kind princes might spend without concern.
The phrase appears almost exclusively in ironic contexts, describing amounts that are anything but princely: They were offering the princely sum of twelve dollars an hour.
Straight uses are rare; the irony has nearly consumed the expression.
- opulentOstentatiously wealthy
- fortuneWealth or destiny
- small fortuneSubstantial amount of money
- extravagantExceeding sensible bounds
- lavishAbundant beyond necessity
spare no expense · benefaction · patronage · deep pockets · wealth · filthy rich · endowment · magnificent · expensive · pretty penny · king's ransom · luxurious · sumptuous · affluent · capital · assets · inheritance · riches
princely sumspittance
Insultingly small payment
pocket change · peanuts · small change · chump change · chicken feed
prince, princely, princes, princess, princesses, princedom, princeling, principal, principality