proverb · Legacy record
Money is like sea water. The more you drink, the thirstier you become.
Money is like sea water. The more you drink, the thirstier you become.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying compares money with seawater that increases thirst. As an analogy, gaining more is pictured as enlarging desire rather than satisfying it.
What the words are saying
More and thirstier make the appetite self-extending in the image. A qualified application can ask whether a goal keeps moving after gains. It does not diagnose addiction, verify physiology or prove that every wish for more resources is excessive.
Everyday example
Someone reviews whether a changing accumulation goal still serves the needs it was meant to meet.
When to use it
Use it as a qualified desire-and-satisfaction metaphor.
Put a useful idea into practice: try the free seven-day guide ↗
What it does not mean
No diagnosis, physiological rule or universal pattern of desire is verified.
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
- Contributor-provided proverb reference
Supplied reference A; unit 356; PDF page 54
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.