pay too dearly for (one's) whistle

To spend a lot of money or effort on something that is ultimately disappointing or unfulfilling. The phrase refers to a story by Benjamin Franklin about a boy who wanted a whistle so much that he overpaid for it and soon lost interest in it. I worked night and day to get this position, but now I have very few friends—I guess I paid too dearly for my whistle.

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Reem	-	Arabic
Lycurgus	-	Greek Mythology (Latinized), Ancient Greek (Latinized)
Marley	MAHR-lee	English (Modern)
Parvaiz	-	Persian
Ilia	eel-YAH (Russian)	Georgian, Russian, Bulgarian, Old Church Slavic
Cveta	-	Serbian