"außer Spesen nichts gewesen" meaning in German

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nothing (happened) but expenses"
      },
      "expansion": "“nothing (happened) but expenses”",
      "name": "m-g"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nothing (happened) but expenses"
      },
      "expansion": "Literally, “nothing (happened) but expenses”",
      "name": "lit"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Literally, “nothing (happened) but expenses”.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "phrase"
      },
      "expansion": "außer Spesen nichts gewesen",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "German",
  "lang_code": "de",
  "pos": "phrase",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "German entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2019 September 6, Bernward Janzing, “Kritik am Wirtschaftsminister: Flaute trotz Windgipfel”, in Die Tageszeitung: taz, →ISSN:",
          "text": "Daran hat sich auch durch den „Windgipfel“ der Bundesregierung am Donnerstag nichts geändert: „Außer Spesen nix gewesen“, kommentierte die Deutsche Gesellschaft für Sonnenenergie, die sich für alle erneuerbaren Energien einsetzt.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Said of a failed (but costly) project."
      ],
      "id": "en-außer_Spesen_nichts_gewesen-de-phrase-gQXhr76a",
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(colloquial) Said of a failed (but costly) project."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "Satz mit X"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "tags": [
            "Liechtenstein",
            "Switzerland"
          ],
          "word": "ausser Spesen nichts gewesen"
        },
        {
          "word": "außer Spesen nix gewesen"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "colloquial"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈaʊ̯sɐ ˈʃpeːzn̩ nɪçt͡s ɡəˈveːsn̩/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "De-außer Spesen nichts gewesen.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/92/De-au%C3%9Fer_Spesen_nichts_gewesen.ogg/De-au%C3%9Fer_Spesen_nichts_gewesen.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/De-au%C3%9Fer_Spesen_nichts_gewesen.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "außer Spesen nichts gewesen"
}

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nothing (happened) but expenses"
      },
      "expansion": "“nothing (happened) but expenses”",
      "name": "m-g"
    },
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "nothing (happened) but expenses"
      },
      "expansion": "Literally, “nothing (happened) but expenses”",
      "name": "lit"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Literally, “nothing (happened) but expenses”.",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "de",
        "2": "phrase"
      },
      "expansion": "außer Spesen nichts gewesen",
      "name": "head"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "German",
  "lang_code": "de",
  "pos": "phrase",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "Satz mit X"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "German colloquialisms",
        "German entries with incorrect language header",
        "German lemmas",
        "German multiword terms",
        "German phrases",
        "German rhyming phrases",
        "German terms with quotations",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Requests for translations of German quotations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2019 September 6, Bernward Janzing, “Kritik am Wirtschaftsminister: Flaute trotz Windgipfel”, in Die Tageszeitung: taz, →ISSN:",
          "text": "Daran hat sich auch durch den „Windgipfel“ der Bundesregierung am Donnerstag nichts geändert: „Außer Spesen nix gewesen“, kommentierte die Deutsche Gesellschaft für Sonnenenergie, die sich für alle erneuerbaren Energien einsetzt.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Said of a failed (but costly) project."
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(colloquial) Said of a failed (but costly) project."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "colloquial"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/ˈaʊ̯sɐ ˈʃpeːzn̩ nɪçt͡s ɡəˈveːsn̩/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "De-außer Spesen nichts gewesen.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/92/De-au%C3%9Fer_Spesen_nichts_gewesen.ogg/De-au%C3%9Fer_Spesen_nichts_gewesen.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/De-au%C3%9Fer_Spesen_nichts_gewesen.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "tags": [
        "Liechtenstein",
        "Switzerland"
      ],
      "word": "ausser Spesen nichts gewesen"
    },
    {
      "word": "außer Spesen nix gewesen"
    }
  ],
  "word": "außer Spesen nichts gewesen"
}