A: Richard has been secretive lately. Do you have any idea what’s up?

B: He got a picture of Fred and Joan kissing and tried to bleed both of them dry by threatening to show it to their spouses.

Note: This idiom, which literally means to “cut someone and make him bleed until no drop of blood is left,” is a metaphor. In fact, it means to “take all of the money that another person has, often through blackmail.” People can also say to “bleed someone white.” For example: The maid bled her famous employer dry until he could no longer pay her the hush money.