IdiomFood & Drink
French
FrenchUn compte d'apothicaire
Meaning: A needlessly complicated calculation, usually one padded in the biller's favor.
Literally: An apothecary's bill
Example: “Pour partager l'addition, il nous a fait un compte d'apothicaire au centime près.” — To split the check, he worked out a needlessly fussy tally down to the last cent.
Origin: Apothecaries were notorious for itemized accounts nobody could check, listing costly ingredients in quantities impossible to verify. Molière mocks the practice in Le Malade imaginaire (The Imaginary Invalid), whose opening scene is Argan auditing exactly such a bill.
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