やけあとのくぎひろい

Japanese

For pronunciation and definitions of やけあとのくぎひろい – see the following entry.

【焼け跡の釘拾い】 [idiom] to try to save a little only to lose a lot; to spoil the ship for a ha'p'orth of tar; to be penny wise and pound foolish

(This term, やけあとのくぎひろい (yakeatonokugihiroi), is the hiragana spelling of the above term.)