What does the saying, penny wise, pound foolish mean. A penny is a small amount of money and a pound is a larger amount. In the past our government has nowhere been more penny wise and pound foolish than in connection with its expenditures for conservation. You can complete the definition of penny wise and pound foolish given by the english definition dictionary with other english dictionaries. Take care of the pence and the pounds will take care of themselves. Dontbepennywiseandpoundfoolish dictionary definition dont. Careful in dealing with small sums of money or small matters. Definition and synonyms of penny wise, pound foolish from the online english dictionary from macmillan education. I took it to mean, making decisions with small amounts of money pennies that end up making bad sense for affecting larger amounts of money pounds, as in great british pounds.
People sometimes worry about spending small amounts of money. 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. This 1929 book is amzingly still in sync with the attitudes and foilibles of todays. Be careful not to be penny wise, pound foolish both. Pennywise the dancing clown robert bob gray or it is actually a pregnant female that originated in a void containing and surrounding the universe. Dont be penny wise and dollar foolish, dont waste your time and profits trying to do it yourself. The person credited with coining the phrase, penny wise and pound foolish, robert burton, also said about writers, they lard their lean books with the fat of others works, and we can say nothing but what hath been said. The company was penny wise and pound foolish to hire just a handful of workers to do. Information about pennywise in the dictionary, synonyms and antonyms. Imagine that someone is running a business and drafts a contract, but is not an attorney. There is simply a lot more to soaring performance than trying to improve the. Its natural form exists in a realm beyond the physical called the deadlights. Information and translations of dont be penny wise and pound foolish in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web.
Essentially, penny wise but pound foolish has two meanings. I think the governments new policy is penny wise and pound foolish. See a penny, pick it up, and all the day youll have good luck. Pennywise definition and meaning collins english dictionary. Penny wise and pound foolish posted by priya on september 10, 2003. It was first developed to refer to anyone who tries to save a small amount of money but this results on them losing a lot more money later on. Yes, we could patch the road, but thats penny wise, pound foolishitll just have to be repaved completely next year anyway.
In fact, lately i found that a lot of these suggestions are simply penny wise and pound foolish. Pennywise and poundfoolish idioms by the free dictionary. They lard their lean books with the fat of others works, and we can say. Focusing on minutiae but neglecting the larger picture.
I watch my pennies, so i can spend my dollars how i want. Top synonyms for pennywise and poundfoolish other words for pennywise and poundfoolish are frugal, skimping and extravagant. What does dont be penny wise and pound foolish mean. Penny wise and pound foolish download ebook pdf, epub. Definition of penny wise and pound foolish by the dictionary of american idioms. Information and translations of pennywise and poundfoolish in the most comprehensive dictionary definitions resource on the web. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Being careful with trivial expenses, but careless with larger ones. Pennywise definition of pennywise by merriamwebster. Change your default dictionary to american english. Saying you do not have the money to hire a financial adviser or to read a good book on budgeting to help you with your money issues until you are out of debt. Penny wise and pound foolish definition of penny wise. My penny wise and dollar my way philosophy made its. Although the pound is a british unit of currency, this expression is understood and occasionally used in the usa.
Click download or read online button to get penny wise and pound foolish book now. Penny wise synonyms, penny wise pronunciation, penny wise translation, english dictionary definition of penny wise. Search penny wise and pound foolish and thousands of other words in english definition and synonym dictionary from reverso. Definition of penny wise and pound foolish in the idioms dictionary. Pennywise definition is wise or prudent only in dealing with small sums or matters. Penny wise, pound foolish there is a british saying i always loved, penny wise, pound foolish. Penny wise and pound foolish phrase meaning and origin.
Origin of penny wise and pound foolish, and some of. Penny wise and pound foolish idioms by the free dictionary. The penny in english proverbs and sayings hubpages. Another word for opposite of meaning of rhymes with sentences with find word forms translate from english translate to english words with friends scrabble crossword codeword words starting with words ending with words containing exactly words containing letters pronounce find conjugations find names. Origin of penny wise and pound foolish, and some of historys. Be careful not to be penny wise, pound foolish both sides of the. This is the british english definition of penny wise, pound foolish. Can you please tell me what that means, and, perhaps, the origin as well. This phrase alludes to british currency, in which a pound was once worth 240 pennies, or pence, and is now worth 100 pence. How to use pennywise andbut poundfoolish in a sentence.
Wikipedia, lexilogos, oxford, cambridge, chambers harrap, wordreference, collins lexibase dictionaries, merriam webster. What does the saying penny wise, pound foolish mean. A penny wise and a pound foolish soaring economist. In other words, you are stingy with smaller amounts, and you are wasteful with larger amounts.
Synonyms for pennywise at with free online thesaurus, antonyms, and definitions. Everyone loves saving money, cutting back, and reducing expenses. There isnt a great deal to be said about the expression penny wise and pound foolish other than it is approximately 500 years old and originated in england. Penny wise and pound foolish definition at, a free online dictionary with pronunciation, synonyms and translation. Many have called the budget cuts penny wise, pound foolish. A penny wise and a pound foolish reading many of the essential soaring publications about tactics and technique, one gets the impression that the simple secret to success is to just fly faster.
The penny is a small unit of currency and the pound is a larger. Penny wise dollar foolish im rethinking the dollar. What is the meaning of the phrase be pennywise and poundfoolish. What does penny wise and pound foolish expression mean. I dont know whether youre asking what the expression means, or for examples but giving literal definitions of things is boring, so im going to go straight for the latter. Pennywise definition of pennywise by the free dictionary. Pennywise, poundfoolish is to be cautious wise with small amounts of money but wasteful foolish with larger amounts. But, ill only buy paper towels that are on sale and i love using coupons. Pennywise andbut poundfoolish definition 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. Example sentences with penny wise and pound foolish idiom.
Its final form in the physical realm is a 15 foot high black spider, which is the closest the human mind can get to understanding its actual physical form. Every new search is a voyage to the indies, a quest for buried treasure, a journey to the end of the rainbow. Definition of pennywise and poundfoolish in the idioms dictionary. Weve worked so hard to save money that if we took a vacation now it would be pennywise, poundfoolish.
Pennywise definition at, a free online dictionary with pronunciation, synonyms and translation. Weve worked so hard to save money that if we took a. View american english definition of penny wise, pound foolish. What does pennywise and poundfoolish expression mean. There is a british saying i always loved, penny wise, pound foolish. Penny wise book 3 in the windy city neighbors series introduces us to yet another family in the neighborhoodthe jaspers, busy with demanding jobs, busy with church, busy volunteering, parents of three active teenagers, juggling sometimes crazy schedules. The idiom penny wise but pound foolish originated in england.
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 restaurantspenny wise and pound foolish. Prudent and thrifty with small amounts of money, but wasteful and profligate with large amounts penny wise and pound foolish meaning. Video shows what penny wise and pound foolish means. From penny wise and book foolish, regarding book collecting. Reading moffats book winning on the wind, he discusses how every little error is inefficient and how all of the errors compound make a big impact. Prepositional phrase, adverbial phrase, or other phrase or expressionfor example, behind the times, on your own. Englischdeutschubersetzungen fur penny wise and pound foolish im online worterbuch deutschworterbuch. So i go for the manipedi, because it makes me feel good. Penny wise definition of penny wise by the free dictionary. Used in the expression penny wise and pound foolish to describe someone whose thrift does not extend to larger amounts. That such a course is to be deplored was already made clear in the sixteenth century and was soon transferred to the foolishness of being fastidious about unimportant matters and careless about important ones. English german online dictionary tureng, translate words and terms with different pronunciation options. What does it mean to be pennywise but pound foolish. Penny wise, pound foolish phrase definition and synonyms.
1378 757 806 974 541 613 423 833 1027 964 596 1445 1113 866 538 299 1110 56 84 795 488 1113 400 32 1090 1439 233 707 258 692 137 497 1298 779 992 30 685 86 800 732 192 474 1434