El chocolate del loro

/el t͡ʃo·ko·ˈla·te ðel ˈlo·ɾo/

The parrot's chocolate.

Frequency

ConversationRare

JournalismRare

LiteraryOccasional

AcademicVery rare

In English

a drop in the ocean; **a drop in the ocean**; **a drop in the bucket**; **a negligible saving**; **a token saving**; **small change**; **peanuts**

Meaning

El chocolate del loro refers to a negligible expense or saving, especially when it is presented as a solution to a much larger financial problem.

Examples

Quitar el café de las reuniones es el chocolate del loro.

Cutting coffee from the meetings is a negligible saving.

Ahorrar veinte euros al mes no va a solucionar el problema; es el chocolate del loro.

Saving twenty euros a month isn't going to solve the problem; it's a drop in the ocean.

Han reducido el gasto en material de oficina, pero mantienen todos los gastos superfluos. Eso es el chocolate del loro.

They've cut spending on office supplies but kept all the unnecessary expenses. That's just a token saving.

Lo que ahorramos con esa medida es el chocolate del loro.

What we save with that measure is peanuts.

It is often used ironically to criticize a measure that saves very little while leaving the major expenses untouched.

Used when

someone proposes cutting a trivial expense
a saving is insignificant compared with total expenditure
an organization announces a token cost-cutting measure
someone focuses on a minor expense while ignoring much larger ones
a supposedly important saving makes practically no difference

Origin

The expression is traditionally associated with an anecdote about a household with serious financial problems.

According to the traditional story, the household tried to reduce its expenses by cutting the amount of chocolate given to its parrot, despite the fact that much larger and more important expenses remained.

The anecdote illustrates the absurdity of trying to solve a major financial problem through an utterly insignificant saving.

Cultural note

The expression is normally used when there is a striking contrast between the tiny amount being saved and the scale of the overall problem.

For example:

Reducir el gasto en bolígrafos es el chocolate del loro si la empresa pierde millones cada año.

The point is not that the pens cost nothing, but that cutting their cost does not address the real source of the problem.

It can therefore carry a distinctly ironic or critical tone.

Did you know?

The expression is particularly useful for criticizing symbolic cost-cutting.

An organization might announce a small saving with great publicity while leaving its major expenses unchanged. Someone might respond:

«Eso es el chocolate del loro.»

The criticism is therefore not simply "that's a small amount", but rather:

"You're making a big deal about saving almost nothing."

For English speakers

Do not normally translate:

Eso es el chocolate del loro.

literally as:

That's the parrot's chocolate.

Instead use:

That's a drop in the ocean.

That's a negligible saving.

That's peanuts.

That's just a token measure.