Ne pas attacher son chien avec des saucisses

Ne pas attacher son chien avec des saucisses
Share / Tweet / Pin Me!

Informal French Expression

Meaning to be cheap, stingy, tight-fisted
Literally to not tie up one’s dog with sausages
Register informal
Pronunciation French sound files [neu pah zah tah shay so(n) shyeh(n) ah vehk day so sees]
IPA   [nə pa a ta ʃe sɔ̃ ʃjɛ̃ a vɛk de so sis]

Usage notes: The French idiom ne pas attacher son chien avec des saucisses brings to mind some cartoon dog trotting down the road, triumphantly dragging a long string of sausages behind him. You can image how a leash made of sausages would be no match for a hungry dog, so this colorful expression understates a person’s attachment to their money:

S/he doesn’t tie the dog up with an easily broken (or eaten) leash …

  s/he ties it up with something unbreakable …

    s/he holds onto money.

Par exemple…

Je voulais rester dans un hôtel plus luxe, mais Thierry n’attache pas son chien avec des saucisses.
I wanted to stay in a more luxurious hotel, but Thierry is too cheap.

Ce mec n’attache pas son chien avec des saucisses : il arrache les clous pour les réutiliser !
That guy is so tight-fisted: he pulls out nails to reuse them!

Variation: ne pas les attacher avec des saucisses

 More expressions

 Related lessons

 Share / Tweet / Pin Me!

Attacher son chien avec des saucisses

  Lawless French Files:  

Stay up to date with Lawless French

Questions about French?

 Visit the Progress with Lawless French Q+A forum to get help from native French speakers and fellow learners.

Support Lawless French

 This free website is created with love and a great deal of work. If you love it, please consider making a one-time or monthly donation.