a drop in the bucket

【字面理解】水桶中的一滴水

【英文解析】a very small proportion of the whole

【中文解析】沧海一粟;九牛一毛

【典型例句】① The amount being spent on scientific research is a drop in the bucket.花在科学研究上的费用是微不足道的。

② It would be a drop in the bucket compared to the amount we required.比起我们的需求量来说，这只不过是沧 海一粟罢了。

【注释】此句源自《圣经以赛亚书》第40章第15节看哪，万民都像水桶中的一滴，又算如天平上的微尘。” (Even the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as dust on the scales. Isaiah 40:15)变体：a drop in the ocean。