ProverbChallengeEnglish origin

A fat kitchen, a lean will.

Meaning: Excessive spending on pleasures leaves little inheritance or resources for one's heirs and future security.

Origin: Recorded in A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, an undated collection published in London by Whittaker & Co. around 1880 and credited to Thomas Preston. Its earlier history hasn't been traced.

Equivalents in French

  • French: Grande chère petit testament (literally: A fat kitchen makes a lean will)

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