Careful with one’s spending of small sums of money but careless and wasteful with larger amounts.
Penny wise and pound foolish
What's the meaning of the phrase 'Penny wise and pound foolish'?
What's the origin of the phrase 'Penny wise and pound foolish'?
There isn’t 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. It is first recorded in Francis Meres’ Luis de Granada’s Sinners Guyde, translated, or as Meres puts it ‘digested into English’, in 1598:
Least he (as it is wont to be sayd) be penny wise and pound foolish, least he I say, gather ashes, and cast away flower.
The history of “Penny wise and pound foolish” in printed materials
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