dat kan bruin niet trekken
Dutch
Alternative forms
- dat kan de bruine niet trekken
- dat kon bruin niet trekken (past tense)
- dat kon de bruine niet trekken (past tense)
Etymology
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
- IPA(key): /ˈdɑt kɑn ˈbrœy̯n ni(t) ˈtrɛkə(n)/
Proverb
dat kan bruin niet trekken
- That is too expensive. [from late 19th c.]