throw a sprat to catch a mackerel

English

Pronunciation

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Verb

throw a sprat to catch a mackerel (third-person singular simple present throws a sprat to catch a mackerel, present participle throwing a sprat to catch a mackerel, simple past threw a sprat to catch a mackerel, past participle thrown a sprat to catch a mackerel)

1. (British, idiomatic) To sacrifice something of little value in the hope of gaining something better.
   • 1948 November and December, “Notes and News: Southampton and the M.S.W.J.R.”, in Railway Magazine, page 410:

     It is pertinent to remember that in 1892, the M.S.W.J.R. had secured from the L.S.W.R. running powers between Andover and Southampton Dock, so no doubt the "Solent Scheme" should properly be regarded as a sprat set (successfully) to catch a mackerel.