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- DictionaryPenny wise and pound foolish
- ▪ careful and economical in small matters while being wasteful or extravagant in large ones
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The meaning of PENNY-WISE AND/BUT POUND-FOOLISH is careful about small amounts of money but not about large amounts —used especially to describe something that is done to save a small amount of money now but that will cost a large amount of money in the future.
- Penny Wise and Pound Foolish Meaning
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This idiom comes from Great Britain, as it alludes to their currency the British Pound. One British Pound is made up of 100 pence. If you are said to be penny wise and pound foolish, you are extremely careful with smaller, inconsequential amounts of money, but you lose any gains you might receive from those savings on extravagant larger purchases. ...
The first recorded use of the phrase was in 1712 by Joseph Addison’s daily publication, The Spectator. I think a woman who will give up herself to a man in marriage, where there is the least room for such an apprehension, and trust her person to one whom she will not rely on for the common necessities of life, may very properly be accused (in the p...
In the modern day, someone might be said to be penny wise and pound-foolish if they scrimp and save on small purchases like groceries or gasoline, but they buy an expensive car or house that is way out of their price range. For example, someone who will drive across town to save five cents a gallon on gasoline but just recently purchased a BMW that...
Lanza said that many times in the past, freeholder boards have been “penny wise and pound foolish,” opting for less expensive options that don’t last. Even with declining numbers of people playing...
The English idiom “penny wise and pound foolish” is a popular saying that warns against safeguarding pennies while risking pounds. In other words, being stingy with small sums of money while being extravagant with larger sums.
BE PENNY-WISE AND POUND-FOOLISH definition: 1. to be extremely careful about small amounts of money and not careful enough about larger amounts…. Learn more.
This phrase alludes to British currency, in which a pound was once worth 240 pennies, or pence, and is now worth 100 pence. The phrase is also occasionally used for being very careful about unimportant matters and careless about important ones.
Stingy about small expenditures and extravagant with large ones, as in Dean clips all the coupons for supermarket bargains but insists on going to the best restaurants-penny wise and pound foolish . This phrase alludes to British currency, in which a pound was once worth 240 pennies, or pence, and is now worth 100 pence.
The literal meaning of penny-wise and pound-foolish is about someone diligently saving pennies while carelessly letting pounds slip away. Figuratively, it doesn’t stray too far from the literal intent and speaks to a broader concept of misplaced frugality—being economical in small matters but wasteful with significant ones.
What's the meaning of the phrase 'Penny wise and pound foolish'? Careful with one's spending of small sums of money but careless and wasteful with larger amounts. What's the origin of the phrase 'Penny wise and pound foolish'?
