Helaas, pindakaas
Meaning: Too bad, nothing can be done about it.
Language: Dutch
Literally: Alas, peanut butter
Category: Food & Drink
Origin: Genuinely recent and largely playful in origin: the phrase only caught on around 1986, apparently starting among students at the Osdorp school community in Amsterdam, who used it as a mock-apologetic response when something wanted — a snack, an item, anything — turned out to be unavailable. "Pindakaas" (peanut butter) has no real connection to the actual disappointment being expressed; it was tacked on purely because it rhymes with "helaas" (unfortunately), turning a plain apology into a small, absurd joke at its own expense. The construction follows a broader Dutch pattern of pairing an ordinary word with a nonsensical rhyming partner purely for comic effect, the same logic behind similar constructions like "jammer de bammer."
More idioms — Food & Drink
- Σιγά τα λάχανα — Big deal! (extreme sarcasm)
- Ayıkla pirincin taşını — Deal with it yourself; it's your mess.
- Armut piş, ağzıma düş — Wanting everything handed to you without effort.
- Avoir le beurre et l'argent du beurre — To want to have it both ways.
- Faire la fine bouche — To be overly picky or hard to please.
- Tourner autour du pot — To beat around the bush.
More Dutch idioms
- Nu komt de aap uit de mouw — The truth is finally revealed.
- Met de deur in huis vallen — To get straight to the point without any preamble.
- Iets voor een appel en een ei kopen — To get something for next to nothing.
- De hond in de pot vinden — To arrive too late — the food, or the opportunity, is gone.
- Een appeltje met iemand te schillen hebben — To have a bone to pick with someone.
- Iets onder de knie hebben — To have mastered a skill.