What does Shakespeare's neither a borrower nor a lender be means?

Answer 1

In William Shakespeare's play Hamlet,

Polonius is speaking to his son Laertes who is leaving to go to University in Paris in act 1, scene iii when, in the course of giving him advice on how to live and behave himself while abroad, he says....

Neither a borrower nor a lender be;

For loan oft loses both itself and friend

And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.

He did, but he was quoting Shakespeare. Hamlet Act I scene III Polonius is giving his son Laertes advice.

Answer 2

Polonius is full of good advice. He tells his son Laertes never to lend money or borrow it. If you lend it, you often won't get it back. If you borrow it, it makes you less careful in how you manage your money.

Answer 3

The famous quote made by William Shakespeare "Neither a borrow nor a lender be" means don't borrow and don't lend. Polonius goes on to explain that if you lend money to a friend, you will lose both the money and the friend (who will avoid paying you back by avoiding you), and if you borrow you will fall of out of the habit of saving for purchases.

Answer 4

"Neither borrower nor lender be" is from the scene in Hamlet where Polonius gives his son Laertes advice before he returns to university in France.

It means don't borrow money and don't lend money.

Polonius goes on to explain his reasoning. He says that lending money to a friend often loses one both the money and the friend, and that borrowing "dulls the edge of husbandry"--in other words, borrowing money gets you out of the habit of spending wisely and saving money.

Answer 5

Neither a borrower nor a lender be; orignated from William Shakespeare's Hamlet, in 1602.

Lord Polonius stated : Neither a borrower nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend, And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.

Answer 6

Not banks or the American government, to be sure. The quotation is from Shakespeare's Hamlet and is part of a long-winded and tedious set of advice offered by the long-winded and tedious advisor Polonius to his son Laertes, who is trying to get on his boat for France. Polonius is a windbag who just likes to hear himself talk, and who often does not believe what he is saying. He is also frequently wrong. Therefore, feel free to disagree heartily with what he says.

Answer 7

Just what it says. He suggests that you should not lend to anyone or to borrow from them. Whether you agree with this depends on your own views.

Answer 8

Polonius