The fine was a drop in the bucket for a company that size.
a drop in the bucket
idiomA quantity so small it is negligible next to what is actually needed.
Origin
The phrase comes from Isaiah 40:15, which describes the scale of God against the scale of human power: "Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance." Whole nations, the prophet says, weigh no more than a single drop clinging to the rim of an emptied pail.
The image is built to shrink things. Set beside something vast enough, even great powers become a stray drop or a speck of dust — present, but too small to register.
English kept the comparison but narrowed it to matters of quantity. A drop in the bucket is now any contribution so small it barely counts against the size of the problem — a donation dwarfed by the need, or a repayment that hardly dents the debt.
We raised a thousand pounds, but against the repair bill it was a drop in the bucket.
The relief package sounded generous until you divided it across a whole flooded region, at which point each household's share was a drop in the bucket.
The rise and fall of kings and the warnings of the prophets.
- 01
David and Goliath (idiom)
A contest in which a much weaker underdog faces a far stronger opponent.
- 02
the writing on the wall (idiom)
A clear sign that something, especially failure or disaster, is on its way.
- 03
feet of clay (idiom)
In someone apparently strong and without failings, a hidden weakness which could lead to downfall.
- 04
a leopard cannot change its spots (idiom)
People rarely change their fundamental nature, however much they may seem to.
- 05
how the mighty have fallen (idiom)
A remark on the dramatic downfall of someone once powerful or admired.
- 06
a still small voice (idiom)
A quiet inner prompting of conscience or intuition.