proverb · Words worth keeping
A thing you don't want is dear at any price.
A thing you don't want is dear at any price.
In print by 1893 AD · industrial
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Something unwanted can impose a cost even when its price is low. The saying asks whether an acquisition serves a real purpose, instead of letting a bargain alone determine what is worth having.
What the words are saying
Dear means costly in the contrast between a low price and an unwanted thing. The sentence shifts attention from the apparent saving to whether the object has any useful place in someone’s life. Space, attention and the effort of maintaining it can matter alongside its purchase price. This is a practical reading about unwanted possessions, not a rule that every need must be known in advance. An unfamiliar object may become useful, and someone may reasonably acquire something for another person or future occasion. The proverb helps examine the reason for accepting an item, rather than treating its cheapness as a sufficient reason.
Everyday example
A hobbyist declines a discounted tool that does not suit any project they intend to undertake.
When to use it
Use it when a bargain is distracting from usefulness.
What it does not mean
An item’s usefulness depends on circumstances and cannot be judged by price alone.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional proverb
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1893 AD · industrial
In print by 1893: recorded in Dictionary of Quotations (1893). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- Dictionary of Quotations (1893) (1893 AD)
Printed citation: Pr. · page_021
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.