Dictionary

money talks, bullshit walks en · X

Pronunciation

• (US) audio

Etymology

First appeared c. 1968 in the US; a rhyming elaboration of money talks.

Meanings

1. (slang, vulgar) Attempting to accomplish a goal by demonstrating possession of material resources will succeed, while attempting to accomplish the same goal through mere rhetoric will fail.
   • “You taught me a great expression a few years ago, Joey—don’t forget it yourself.” “What expression?” I asked. “Money talks—bullshit walks. Joey, the further away from the Chairman I get, the better I like it.” 1968, Keefe Brasselle, The Cannibals: A Novel about Television's Savage Chieftains, page p. 68:
   • As my former congressman put it so inelegantly: "Money talks; bullshit walks." 1984, Jack DeSario, Stuart Langton, Symposium on Citizen Participation and Public Policy, page 321:
   • First rule of the cold approach: money talks, bullshit walks. So Cal would tip the guy twenty dollars on a hundred-dollar tab. 2001, Paul William Roberts, Norman Snider, Smokescreen: One Man Against the Underworld, page 252:

Forms

Relateds

actions speak louder than words · walk the walk · talk the talk · a picture is worth a thousand words · money talks, wealth whispers · talk is cheap