pound-foolish

The phrase "penny wise, pound foolish" is an old English proverb that cautions against being frugal with small amounts of money (pennies) while simultaneously being wasteful with larger sums (pounds). It does not have a specific author attributed to it.

NO. It is ascribed to another Englishman who lived in the 17th century.

It refers to a person who will go to great pains to save a few Pennies here and there, but think nothing of spending a large sum of money on something they do not need.

'Penny-wise and pound foolish' means to be careful with small amounts of money, but careless when dealing with large ones.

For example, someone who is careful to save small amounts, but spends it all on short term, wasteful things, could be described as being penny-wise and pound foolish.

This means a person is careful or wise about little decisions but may not be careful about bigger ones. Like someone who would order a salad with low-calorie dressing, then follow it up with a super-duper ice-cream-laden double chocolate cholesterol fest.

Punky Brewster - 1985 Punky Wise and Pound Foolish Christmas in July 1-5 was released on:

USA: 12 October 1985