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

1. That is too expensive. [from late 19th c.]