Sayings

If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys

This page is about the saying "If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys"

British English

Possible meaning:
An employer who pays low wages will have bad staff.

Note:
peanut (noun) = a seed like a hard pea, typically eaten by monkeys | peanuts (noun) = a very small sum of money | pay peanuts (verb) = pay very low wages | monkey (noun) = a small to medium-sized, human-like animal living in trees in tropical countries

Variety

This is typically used in British English but may be used in other varieties of English too.

Quick Quiz

"If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys" because

a. monkeys like peanuts

b. good workers like good wages

c. bad workers like peanuts
a) monkeys like peanuts b) good workers like good wages c) bad workers like peanuts

See Saying of the Day today

Contributor: Josef Essberger