penny wise and pound foolish

See also: penny-wise and pound-foolish

English

Alternative forms

penny-wise and pound-foolish
penny wise, pound foolish

Etymology

From the British currency (one penny being one hundredth of a pound or, prior to decimalisation, one 240th of a pound).

Pronunciation

Audio (AU) (file)

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

Chinese:
Mandarin: 捨本逐末／舍本逐末 (zh) (shěběn-zhúmò)
Finnish: pikkuasioissa tarkka mutta suurissa tuhlaavainen
Greek: ακριβός στα πίτουρα και φτηνός στ' αλεύρι (el) (akrivós sta pítoura kai ftinós st' alévri)
Icelandic: spara eyrinn en kasta krónunni
Japanese: 安物買いの銭失い (ja) (yasumono-gai no zeni-ushinai)
Russian: эконо́мный в мелоча́х и расточи́тельный в кру́пном (ekonómnyj v meločáx i rastočítelʹnyj v krúpnom)
Serbo-Croatian: tko štedi čavao, izgubi potkovu (idiom)
Spanish: ahorra en el chocolate del loro, el dinero del avaro, dos veces va al mercado (proverb, dated), el dinero del pobre dos veces se gasta
Urdu: گانتھ کا پورا عقل کا اندھا‎ (gānṭh kā pūrā, 'aqal kā andhā) (proverb)