idiom · neutral
penny-wise and pound-foolish
UK/ˌpen.iˈwaɪz ænd ˌpaʊndˈfuːlɪʃ/US/ˌpɛniˈwaɪz ænd ˌpaʊndˈfuːlɪʃ/pen·ny·WISE and pound·FOOL·ish
Careful about small amounts of money but careless about larger sums; short-sighted about overall costs
Examples
“The council saved on maintenance but paid much more for emergency repairs later — really penny-wise and pound-foolish.”
“Buying the cheapest printer cartridge now will cost you more in the long run — it's penny-wise and pound-foolish.”
“They cut quality control to save money and ended up with returns and complaints — a classic penny-wise and pound-foolish decision.”
Band 8 sentence
“Policymakers who slash investment in public transport to save cash now often appear penny-wise and pound-foolish when congestion and costs rise later.”
Collocations
- be penny-wise and pound-foolish
- seem/appear penny-wise and pound-foolish
Word family
Common mistakes
He saves pennies but wastes pounds.→He's penny-wise and pound-foolish.
He is penny-wise but pound-foolish.→He is penny-wise and pound-foolish.
Say it for a higher band
5save small amounts→6be careful with small expenses→7+penny-wise and pound-foolish
Synonyms
short-sighted about money
false economy
Easily confused
penny-pinching
“My uncle is so penny-pinching he reuses tea bags.”
Related words
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In Money
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