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Informal French Expression
| Meaning | to be cheap, stingy, tight-fisted | |
| Literally | to not tie up one’s dog with sausages | |
| Register | informal | |
| Pronunciation | [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
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