pay through the nose

"Here we go again!"(また始まったよ！)と言われそうですが鼻の話が続きます。 児童の読み物 "The Witches" にあった文です。
I'll have my lawyers on to her for this! I'll make her pay through the nose!"
"pay through the nose" は明らかに慣用句でしかも以前覚えたはずですが意味を忘れています。
Dictionary.com:　to pay an excessive price: They patronize small and exclusive shops where they cheerfully pay through the nose.
そうでした、以前読んだイデオムのテキストに意味は "pay too high a price" とありました。　そのテキストにあった例文も次に引用します。
At last Mr. Smith came upon the rare stamp he had been seeking at an auction. Since many other stamp collectors would also be bidding for it, he realized that he would have to pay through the nose in order to have it. After considering the increasing value of the stamp, he decided that he would not mind paying such a high price for something so rare.
確かに、オークションで美術品、骨董品などを購入する場合には "You have to pay through the nose." でしょうね。