ProverbWisdom
American origin1779
American origin1779You may pay too dear for your whistle.
Meaning: Pursuing trivial pleasures often costs more in dignity, money, or opportunity than their brief enjoyment warrants.
Who said it? Benjamin Franklin, the essay “The Whistle”, 1779
Origin: From Benjamin Franklin's essay "The Whistle" (1779). Franklin recalls that at seven he spent all his coins on a toy whistle, then learned from his family that he had paid four times its worth. Ever after, seeing people give up health, friendship or money for something trivial, he would think: they give too much for their whistle.
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