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English translation: Not being greedy / Don't be greedy; Not being a money-grubber / Don’t be a money-grubber
10:06 May 27, 2022
Dutch to English translations [PRO] General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Dutch term or phrase:niet schrapen maar laten
"Het uitgangspunt 'niet schrapen maar laten' werkt alleen als je respecteert dat de ander ook nog iets over mag houden onder aan de streep. "
It's in a text talking about why a specific business deal between two shipping companies has been so successful, but I'm curious to know if anyone's come across this idiom? I can't find any translations for it.
re "onder aan de streep" I'm assuming this refers to this (lifted from Van Dale):
"(figuurlijk) hoeveel blijft er onder (aan) de streep over? how much money will it bring in, what will be the profits"
----
I think I prefer using the term "greed(y)" instead of "money-grubbing", so, putting all this together, I ended up with something like:
Het uitgangspunt 'niet schrapen maar laten' werkt alleen als je respecteert dat de ander ook nog iets over mag houden onder aan de streep.
=
The principle of ‘Not being greedy’ only works if you respect the other person’s right to some of the profits at the end of the day. The principle of ‘Not being greedy’ only works if you respect the other person’s right to a share of the profits at the end of the day. The principle of ‘Not being greedy’ will only work if you respect the other person’s right to a share of the profits at the end of the day.
"at the end of the day" is optional maybe change "person" to "party"
see e.g.:
"Alex’s second piece of advice is to not be greedy. He wishes that he had followed this piece of advice when he first started investing in real estate because he has gotten greedy on multiple occasions, which has cost him a lot of business. Alex believes he has made many more mistakes than most investors and greed was the main catalyst. Therefore, adopting a non-greedy principle as one of your business values will help you avoid making many mistakes." (https://www.bestevercre.com/blog/set-goals-dont-be-greedy-cr... )
I also read 'schrapen' as meaning 'het onderste uit de kan willen halen' (i.e. emptying the proverbial jug to the bottom) and 'laten' as 'de ander ook iets gunnen' (leaving sth in the proverbial jug for the other party).
I have never heard the phrase "kuchen en schrapen" used in the sense you described. Then again, I have never worked in a business context in the Netherlands, but still. Seems a little far fetched to me. Bij kuchen en schrapen denk ik zelf aan dit soort dingen:
Er is geen twijfel over de betekenis van schrapen hier. In dat opzicht is er dus geen verdere context nodig.
Wat de algehele interpretatie betreft, is meer context natuurlijk altijd welkom
'schrapen' is niet het probleem. 'laten' laat een ruimere interpretatie toe, maar binnen de gegeven context moet er iets van te maken zijn, iets in de richting van wat ik en Tina hebben aangegeven.
Zoals reeds door Michael geciteerd:
van Dale
schrapen
3 (oneig.) bij kleine beetjes bijeenbrengen, met name uit hebzucht
Voorbeeld: geld bij elkaar schrapen
Tina Vonhof (X)
Canada
14:32 May 27, 2022
Ik denk dat de uitdrukking betekent " niet het onderste uit de kan willen hebben" wat betreft verdiensten, maar ook de ander een kans geven.
The only context around it was the sentence I provided in the query. The previous sentence said 'our relationship is based on 'niet schrapen maar laten'. Then that was it, it wasn't mentioned again in the text. They're talking about a new partnership between two companies, they like the relationship because it's open, honest and fair. That was really all there was to it - I was mostly curious to find out if this was a common idiom I hadn't heard of.
I agree with Michael that 'schrapen' has to do with 'inhaligheid' (greed) here.
It is not completely clear to me what the expression (which is no standard idiom) in its entirity (niet schrapen maar laten) means, but perhaps, instead of playing a zero-sum game (schrapen), being prepared to give up some wishes of your own (laten)
If you look at it this way 'schrapen' is the opposite of 'laten': 'grasp all' vs 'granting the other party their fair share'
"Het uitgangspunt 'niet schrapen maar laten' werkt alleen als je respecteert dat de ander ook nog iets over mag houden onder aan de streep. " = “The principle ‘don’t be a money-grubber’ only works if you respect the other person’s right to some of the profits at the end of the day.”
peer agreement (net): -1
