Meanings
- idiomaticTo be rare, not abundant, not easily acquired.
But I think you should know Before you let love go That true love just don't grow On trees
1967, Willie Clarke, Johnny Pearsall, “True Love Don’t Grow on Trees”, in Sings Sweet Soul!, performed by Helene Smith, Miami, USA: Deep City Records, LP 10012 more examples
‘Cook-housekeeper jobs don’t grow on trees,’ went on the woman, ‘leastways not where you can keep a youngster with you.’
1967, Barbara Sleigh, Jessamy, Sevenoaks, Kent: Bloomsbury, published 1993, →ISBN, page 32The reason why they’re so interested in what we have here is fuel-cell experts don’t grow on trees and it’s relatively high-level expertise you need.
2018 February 2, Tyler Orton, “‘Fuel-cell experts don’t grow on trees’: Ottawa pledges $670k to industry group”, in Business Vancouver
Translations
Finnish rest
- restTranslations
French ne pas se trouver sous le sabot d'un cheval
- ne pas se trouver sous le sabot d'un chevalTranslations
Cite this entry
not grow on trees. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/not%20grow%20on%20trees
“not grow on trees.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/not%20grow%20on%20trees. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “not grow on trees,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/not%20grow%20on%20trees.
Source: not grow on trees on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.