Meanings
present singular third person gives one's left nut · participle present giving one's left nut · past gave one's left nut · participle past given one's left nut
- slangvulgarPay a very high price for something.
Nick Lazarus would give his left nut to see me convicted and disbarred.
1997, Carolyn Wheat, Mean Streak, page 18Synonyms: an arm and a leg, give one's eye-teeth, give one's right arm, king's ransom, pretty penny
Synonyms & antonyms
verbPay a very high price for something.
Origin
The loss of a testicle would be a high price to pay for something. This synonym of give one's eye-teeth and give one's right arm most likely came after those, having been modeled after them facetiously.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
give one's left nut. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/give%20one's%20left%20nut
“give one's left nut.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/give%20one's%20left%20nut. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “give one's left nut,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/give%20one's%20left%20nut.
Source: give one's left nut on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.