penny-wise
Britishadjective
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greatly concerned with saving small sums of money
-
careful about trifles but wasteful in large ventures
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
However, penny-wise, profit-driven developers want homes closer together on narrow streets that allow for more buildings.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 20, 2023
Ms Devlin added the move is a "penny-wise and pound-foolish approach to workforce".
From BBC ● May 15, 2023
This is a case of being penny-wise and pound-foolish.
From Washington Post ● May 25, 2022
Allowing near-term inflation fears to undermine longer-term investments would be penny-wise and just plain foolish.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 26, 2021
Shall we be penny-wise and lose this chance for the luxury of "free and full discussion of a controversial matter at a time when men's minds are not full of the country's danger"?
From Another Sheaf by Galsworthy, John
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
