Dictionary

take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves en · X

Pronunciation

• (US) audio

Meanings

1. If one takes care of little things one at a time, they can add up to big things.
   • It is these little things that matter, Pickering. Take care of the pence and the pounds will take care of themselves is as true of personal habits as of money. 1912 (date written), [George] Bernard Shaw, “Pygmalion”, in Androcles and the Lion, Overruled, Pygmalion, London: Constable and Company, published 1916, →OCLC, Act II, page 132:
   • Old Mr. Lowndes, the famous Secretary of the Treasury, ‥used to say‥Take care of the pence, and the pounds will take care of themselves. 1750, Chesterfield, letter 5 Feb. (1932) IV. 1500
   • Little things, Master Mally. Look after the pennies, Master Mally, and the pounds will look after themselves. 1979, R. Cassilis, Arrow of God, iv. xvii:
   • ‘Yes, it sounds on the melodramatic side,’ he said cheerfully, ‘but in wartime you can't be too careful about the smallest detail. Think of it as along the lines of taking care of the pennies, and the pounds will take care of themselves.’ 1999, ‘H. Crane’, Miss Seeton's Finest Hour, xi. 92

Forms

Antonyms

don't be penny-wise and pound-foolish

Synonyms

many a mickle makes a muckle · every little helps · a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step

Translations (16)

ms sedikit-sedikit, lama-lama jadi bukit (if you take care of little things one at a time, they can add up to big things) · fr les petits ruisseaux font les grandes rivières (if you take care of little things one at a time, they can add up to big things) · ja 一銭を笑う者は一銭に泣く (if you take care of little things one at a time, they can add up to big things) · fi senteissä tuhannen alku (if you take care of little things one at a time, they can add up to big things) · es un grano no hace granero, pero ayuda al compañero (if you take care of little things one at a time, they can add up to big things) · ga is é cosaint na pingine a chruachas na puint (if you take care of little things one at a time, they can add up to big things) · hu sok kicsi sokra megy (if you take care of little things one at a time, they can add up to big things) · sl zrno na zrno pogača, kámen na kámen palača (if you take care of little things one at a time, they can add up to big things) · cmn 聚沙成塔 (if you take care of little things one at a time, they can add up to big things) · ru копе́йка рубль бережёт, а рубль го́лову стережёт (if you take care of little things one at a time, they can add up to big things) · pl grosz do grosza, a będzie kokosza (if you take care of little things one at a time, they can add up to big things) · cmn 積少成多 /积少成多 (if you take care of little things one at a time, they can add up to big things) · cmn 集腋成裘 (if you take care of little things one at a time, they can add up to big things) · de wer den Pfennig nicht ehrt, ist des Talers nicht wert (if you take care of little things one at a time, they can add up to big things) · fi pennissä satain alku, markassa tuhanten (if you take care of little things one at a time, they can add up to big things) · ko 푼돈을 아끼면 큰돈은 저절로 모인다 (if you take care of little things one at a time, they can add up to big things)