throw a sprat to catch a mackerel

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throw a sprat to catch a mackerel (third-person singular simple present throws a sprat to catch a mackerel, present participle throwing a sprat to catch a mackerel, simple past threw a sprat to catch a mackerel, past participle thrown a sprat to catch a mackerel)

1. (idiomatic) To sacrifice something of little value in the hope of gaining something better.