Iets voor een appel en een ei kopen
Meaning: To get something for next to nothing.
Language: Dutch
Literally: To buy something for an apple and an egg
Category: Food & Drink
Origin: Apples and eggs were the cheapest goods on Dutch market stalls; the phrase is attested in Dutch since the 17th century.
More idioms — Food & Drink
- Een appeltje met iemand te schillen hebben — To have a bone to pick with someone.
- Musztarda po obiedzie — Too late to be of any use.
- Rzucać grochem o ścianę — To plead with someone who will not listen.
- 국수를 먹다 (Guksu-reul meokda) — To attend a wedding — or, asked as a question, when will you marry?
- حط في بطنك بطيخة صيفي (ḥuṭṭ fī baṭnak baṭīkha ṣayfī) — Relax completely; do not worry about a thing.
- दाल में कुछ काला है (daal mein kuchh kaalaa hai) — Something suspicious is going on.
More Dutch idioms
- De hond in de pot vinden — To arrive too late — the food, or the opportunity, is gone.
- Iets onder de knie hebben — To have mastered a skill.
- Met de neus in de boter vallen — To arrive at exactly the right, lucky moment.
- Het regent pijpenstelen — It is raining very heavily.
- Iets met de Franse slag doen — To do it carelessly and half-heartedly.
- De kat uit de boom kijken — To wait cautiously before committing.
From our untranslatable words
- Vergüenza ajena — The squirming embarrassment felt on behalf of another person, who may be entirely untroub…
- Magari — One word doing the work of 'if only', 'I wish', 'perhaps' and 'you bet' — the tone decide…
- Sprezzatura — The art of making something difficult look wholly effortless, hiding every trace of the w…