cut your coat according to your cloth

cut your coat according to your cloth
Actions should suit circumstances or resources. Also common as the metaphorical phrase to cut one’s coat according to one’s cloth.

1546 J. HEYWOOD Dialogue of Proverbs I. viii. C1 I shall Cut my cote after my cloth.

1580 LYLY Euphues & his England II. 188 Be neither prodigall to spende all, nor couetous to keepe all, cut thy coat according to thy cloth.

1778 G. WASHINGTON Writings (1936) XIII. 79 General McIntoch..must..yield to necessity; that is, to use a vulgar phraze, ‘shape his Coat according to his Cloth’.

1951 ‘P. WENTWORTH’ Miss Silver comes to Stay xxxvii. ‘You must cut your coat according to your cloth.’.. ‘My trouble is that I do like the most expensive cloth.’

1974 T. SHARPE Porterhouse Blue iii. I’m afraid the..exigencies of our financial position do impose certain restraints... A case of cutting our coats to suit our cloth.


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  • cut your coat according to your cloth — phrase to not spend more money than you have Thesaurus: to save money, or to be careful with moneyhyponym to buy somethingsynonym Main entry: cut * * * proverb undertake only what you have the money or ability …   Useful english dictionary

  • cut your coat according to your cloth — cut (your) coat according to (your) cloth to only buy what you have enough money to pay for. Of course we d love a huge expensive house, but you have to cut your coat according to your cloth …   New idioms dictionary

  • cut your coat according to your cloth — If you cut your coat according to your cloth, you only buy things that you have sufficient money to pay for …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • cut your coat according to your cloth — ► cut your coat according to your cloth proverb underta ke only what you have the money or ability to do and no more. Main Entry: ↑cut …   English terms dictionary

  • cut your coat according to your cloth —    If you cut your coat according to your cloth, you only buy things that you have sufficient money to pay for.   (Dorking School Dictionary) …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

  • cut your coat according to cloth — cut (your) coat according to (your) cloth to only buy what you have enough money to pay for. Of course we d love a huge expensive house, but you have to cut your coat according to your cloth …   New idioms dictionary

  • cut coat according to your cloth — cut (your) coat according to (your) cloth to only buy what you have enough money to pay for. Of course we d love a huge expensive house, but you have to cut your coat according to your cloth …   New idioms dictionary

  • cut coat according to cloth — cut (your) coat according to (your) cloth to only buy what you have enough money to pay for. Of course we d love a huge expensive house, but you have to cut your coat according to your cloth …   New idioms dictionary

  • cut your coat according to your cloth — to not spend more money than you have …   English dictionary

  • cut — ► VERB (cutting; past and past part. cut) 1) make an opening, incision, or wound in (something) with a sharp implement. 2) shorten or divide into pieces with a sharp implement. 3) make, form, or remove with a sharp implement. 4) make or design (a …   English terms dictionary

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