First of all, my American girlfriend didn't know what nettle is. Is it a well-known word?
I've decided to add some spice to my English/to spice up my English (?), to add/by adding (?) typical Hungarian idioms to my English. So, I decided to start this series: Hungarian Idioms in English.
The first one (?) is "Más f***al verni a csalánt" which, if we translate literally means "to beat the nettle with someone else's d***k". Yeah, It's pretty vulgar, but on the other hand, it's also quite witty
It means using someone else's effort, or risk to solve a problem or achieve a goal, often in a manipulative or exploitative way.
Example: My manager, Josh, told the company that we could deliver the software solution in two weeks. This new feature alone would take three weeks to develop. He was beating the nettle with someone else's d***k again."
Headline image by mobography on Unsplash
i would say nettle is known, but maybe not so well, but it varies from people to people i suppose and this was interesting to read, i learned a new Hungarian idiom today 😆
I believe the expression you're looking for is to ride on someone else's coattails. And we also say to stand on the shoulders of giants.