a drop in the ocean 或 a drop in the bucket 形容某物与所需目标相比极其微小。如：

• His fee is a drop in the ocean compared with the real cost of broadcasting.
  同播出的实际开支相比较，他那点酬金不过是九牛一毛。

该表达源自《钦定版圣经》中《以赛亚书》（Isaiah）第40章第15节：

Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.
看哪，万国都像水桶里之一滴，算如天平上的微尘；看哪，他举起海岛、像微细之物。

换言之，与伟大的上帝相比，尘世间的国度都是微不足道的。