FrenchCe n'est pas le Pérou
Meaning: It is not a fortune; it is nothing to get excited about.
Literally: It's not Peru
Example: “Le salaire est correct, mais ce n'est pas le Pérou.” — The salary is decent, but it's nothing to write home about.
English equivalent: Nothing to write home about
Other ways to say this
- French: Ça ne casse pas trois pattes à un canard Literally: It doesn't break three legs of a duck
German: Das ist nicht das Gelbe vom Ei Literally: That's not the yellow of the egg
Dutch: niet veel soeps Literally: Not much soup
English: nothing to write home about
Origin: Peru meant treasure. Europeans had spent the 16th century mounting expeditions into South America after El Dorado, the country whose prince was said to have himself dusted with gold every morning; what they found instead was Peru, where Pizarro defeated the Incas in 1532, took their king Atahualpa prisoner, and had him garrotted in 1533 after extracting an enormous ransom in gold and silver that bought him nothing. That silver went back to Spain and made the country a byword for unimaginable wealth. By 1661 pérou was a common noun meaning a fortune, and the expression itself — in the positive as well as the negative — dates from 1790. Only the negative is still used.
More French idioms
- Vieux comme Mathusalem Extremely old.
- Comme un poisson dans l'eau Completely at ease in one's element.
- Tuer la poule aux œufs d'or To destroy a source of steady profit out of greed for all of it at once.
- Écrire un poulet à quelqu'un To send a love letter.
- À la queue leu leu In single file, one behind another.
- Avoir la queue entre les jambes To slink off humiliated.
Explore another collection: Compliments & Insults
Compliments and insults from around the world, from the sweet to the savage.
- Tu déchires You're awesome — you totally rock.
- Bête comme ses pieds Really not very bright.
- Avoir un poil dans la main To be incurably lazy.
Keep exploring