throw a sprat to catch a mackerel (English, verb)
expansion: 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)
Senses:
glosses: To sacrifice something of little value in the hope of gaining something better.
tags: British
idiomatic
Forms:
form: throws a sprat to catch a mackerel
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: throwing a sprat to catch a mackerel
tags: participle
present
form: threw a sprat to catch a mackerel
tags: past
form: thrown a sprat to catch a mackerel
tags: participle
past