proverb · Source-linked selection
Be a good husband, and you will get a penny to spend, a penny to lend, and a penny for a friend.
Be a good husband, and you will get a penny to spend, a penny to lend, and a penny for a friend.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Careful management can leave resources for personal needs, assistance and friendship. The three pennies picture several purposes served by stewardship.
What the words are saying
The saying links good management with having something to spend, lend and offer to a friend. Its historical wording can be read as care for resources rather than a claim that only a husband should manage them. The useful balance includes one’s needs and the needs of others. It does not guarantee that thrift will create a surplus: income, obligations and circumstances may leave little to spare. Lending or giving must remain a considered choice.
Everyday example
A group plans the use of shared supplies so that its main task is covered and a little remains to help a neighbouring project.
When to use it
Use it to reflect on several worthwhile uses of carefully managed resources.
Put a useful idea into practice: try the free seven-day guide ↗
What it does not mean
Scarcity does not prove poor management; this is not financial or lending advice.
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
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 830 · Husband
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English