“A fool and his money are soon parted”: meaning, origin and examples
What it means
The phrase means that people who are not wise with their money are likely to lose it quickly to bad investments, unwise purchases, or scams.
Tone Cautionary
Where it comes from
The phrase is commonly attributed to the English poet Thomas Tusser, who included it in his 1573 poem Five Hundreth Pointes of Good Husbandrie.
Examples
- Despite winning the lottery, he spent all his winnings on extravagant purchases and was broke within a year, proving that a fool and his money are soon parted.
- He invested in the obviously fraudulent scheme, and as the saying goes, a fool and his money are soon parted.
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