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penny wise and pound foolish. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
penny wise and pound foolish, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
penny wise and pound foolish in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From the British currency (one penny being one hundredth of a pound or, prior to decimalisation, one 240th of a pound).
Pronunciation
Adjective
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
thrifty with small amounts of money but wasteful with large amounts
See also