verb
soak
To demand an excessive amount of money from someone.
The dishonest mechanic soaks customers for repairs they do not need.
Etymology
Soak ordinarily means to saturate or subject thoroughly to something. Slang applies that intensive treatment to imposing a heavy charge on someone.
More examples
- They soaked us for a simple meal.
- Tourist shops were soaking visitors with inflated prices.
- He felt the contractor had soaked him unfairly.
Forms
soak · soaks · soaked · soaking
Similar words
- overcharge
- The direct term without the slang emphasis.
- gouge
- Gouge strongly suggests exploiting customers through excessive prices.