work for peanuts
Meaning: To work for very little pay.
Language: English
Literally: (Already vivid in English)
Example: “Many artists work for peanuts when they start out.”
Category: Food & Drink
Origin: Peanuts were cheap snacks, so "peanuts" came to mean a trivial sum in American English in the early 20th century.
Equivalents in other languages
- French: Travailler pour le roi de Prusse — literally: To work for the King of Prussia
More idioms — Food & Drink
- small potatoes — Something unimportant or trivial.
- not for all the tea in China — Under no circumstances.
- 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.
- packed like sardines — Crowded very tightly together.
- cherry-pick — To choose only the best or most convenient items.
More English idioms
- sit on one's hands — To do nothing when action is needed.
- flat out — As fast or as hard as possible.
- can't carry a tune in a bucket — Sings very badly.
- a smash hit — To be a huge success.
- beat someone to a pulp — To beat someone very severely.
- firing on all cylinders — Working at full power and efficiency.