Idiom
Penny wise, pound foolish
Penny wise, pound foolish describes someone who is careful about small amounts of money but wasteful or careless with large amounts.
How people use it
People use it for saving a little now in a way that costs much more later: skipping a cheap oil change and then needing a new engine, or buying bargain shoes that fall apart in a month. It can describe a person, a decision or a policy. A longer form adds and: penny wise and pound foolish, often hyphenated as penny-wise and pound-foolish. Americans use it too, even though the pound is British money. The tone is neutral and a bit critical.
Also said: penny wise and pound foolish.
Examples
- Buying the cheapest tires is penny wise, pound foolish if they wear out in a year.
- Skipping dental checkups to save money is penny wise and pound foolish.
- The company's penny-wise, pound-foolish cuts to training led to costly mistakes.
Where it comes from
It comes from Britain, where a penny was a small coin and a pound was worth many pennies (240 of them before 1971). The saying appears in English writing in the early 1600s. The idea is that being clever about pennies does no good if you are foolish about pounds.
Check yourself
1. Who is penny wise, pound foolish?
Answer: Someone who saves small amounts but wastes large ones. The phrase describes careful small savings that lead to big losses.
2. Which choice is penny wise, pound foolish?
Answer: Skipping a cheap roof repair until the whole ceiling has to be replaced. Saving a small amount now leads to a much bigger cost later.
Similar idioms
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