dat kan bruin niet trekken
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Dutch
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]- dat kan de bruine niet trekken
- dat kon bruin niet trekken (past tense)
- dat kon de bruine niet trekken (past tense)
Etymology
[edit]Literally, “[the] brown [horse] can't pull that”. From older dat kan grauw niet trekken, which referred to a donkey (or a grey horse according to some authors). Several authors include daar moet een bruin voor wezen “a brown [horse] has to be in front of that” behind the variant about the donkey; this clause is otherwise unattested but could explain the shift from grey to brown.
Pronunciation
[edit]Proverb
[edit]- That is too expensive. [from late 19th c.]