Meaning & Analysis
Literally, the phrase suggests the impossible act of creating money with one's teeth. This absurdity immediately signals that the proverb's meaning is entirely metaphorical, centering on the function of teeth in consumption.
Insights
Profit through Parsimony
The primary metaphor equates saving money with making money. By eating frugally and avoiding expensive food ('sparing...expence'), one's teeth metaphorically 'earn' the money that is not spent. It champions thriftiness in personal consumption as a direct means of wealth accumulation.
Self-Discipline as an Asset
The teeth symbolize personal appetites and desires. To 'make money' with them is to exercise self-control and discipline over one's consumption habits. The proverb suggests that self-restraint is not just a virtue but a financially productive tool.
Savings as Earnings
The phrase illustrates how reducing expenditures is a form of income. The money saved by not indulging in costly meals is as valuable as money earned through labor, highlighting a core principle of personal finance.
Historical Household Economics
The proverb reflects a key economic principle of early modern household management, where food and hospitality constituted a major portion of expenditure. Restraining 'superfluous expence at his table', as the 1604 citation notes, was a direct path to accumulating capital, contrasting with aristocratic ideals of lavish displays of wealth.
Psychology of Thrift
This saying highlights the psychological link between physical self-denial and financial gain. It reframes the passive act of not eating extravagantly into an active, productive endeavor of 'making money', turning a tool of consumption (teeth) into a symbol of economic prudence.
Cultural Resonance
The cross-reference, 'A little kitchen makes a large house', reinforces the proverb's core message. Both sayings champion domestic austerity, particularly in food consumption, as the foundation for greater financial prosperity and asset growth.
Rhetorical Devices
Metaphor
The proverb is built on a central metaphor where 'teeth' represent consumption and 'making money' represents the act of saving through frugality.
Irony
The saying uses irony by inverting the normal function of teeth. Instead of being tools for spending money (by eating), they are paradoxically framed as instruments for generating wealth.
Synecdoche
The 'teeth' serve as a synecdoche, where a part (the tool for eating) stands for the entire concept of personal consumption and dietary habits.
Transcription
Quotations
He makes money with his teeth, saith the Frenchman, meaning his sparing of great and superfluous expence at his table.
(with his teeth, viz. by parsimony).
Cross References
Related Proverbs
Original Scan
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