be pocket change
Meaning: To be a trivial amount of money for the person paying.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “To that company, the fine was pocket change.”
Category: Daily Life
Origin: Pocket change is the loose coins one carries. The dismissive use for large sums that mean little to a rich payer is American from the 20th century.
Equivalents in other languages
- German: aus der Portokasse zahlen — literally: to pay from the postage kitty
More idioms — Daily Life
- be a known quantity — To be someone whose character or ability is already understood.
- take the rap — To accept blame or punishment, often for someone else.
- you can't win them all — Said to console someone after a small failure.
- right on cue — At exactly the right moment.
- you snooze, you lose — If you are slow to act, someone else will take the chance.
- go off without a hitch — To happen smoothly, with no problems.
More English idioms
- become second nature — To become so familiar that one does it without thinking.
- smell a rat — To sense that something dishonest is going on.
- a hard nut to crack — A difficult problem, or a person who is hard to deal with.
- have a finger in every pie — To be involved in many different things at once.
- lose one's shirt — To lose all one's money.
- every little bit helps — Even a small contribution is worth having.
From our compliments & insults
- Tu as du chien — You have a certain irresistible magnetism — a je-ne-sais-quoi that draws people in.
- Tu as la tête sur les épaules — You're grounded, sensible, and dependable — not easily swept off course.
- Tu as le vent en poupe — Everything is going your way — you're riding a wave of momentum and success.