penny wise and pound foolish
(Redirected from don't be penny-wise and pound-foolish)
See also: penny-wise and pound-foolish
English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From the British currency (one penny being one hundredth of a pound or, prior to decimalisation, one 240th of a pound).
Pronunciation
[edit]Audio (General Australian): (file)
Adjective
[edit]penny wise and pound foolish (not generally comparable, comparative more penny wise and pound foolish, superlative most penny wise and pound foolish)
- (idiomatic) Prudent and thrifty with small amounts of money, but wasteful with large amounts.
- 1942, Harry Elmer Barnes, Society in Transition: Problems of a Changing Age, page 122:
- In the past our government has nowhere been more penny wise and pound foolish than in connection with its expenditures for conservation.
Translations
[edit]thrifty with small amounts of money but wasteful with large amounts
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