- English translation
Swing your legs only as far as your money pays for.
- Literal wording
According to the measure of your money, swing your legs.
- Meaning and lesson
The saying ties enjoyment to payment. The image is of someone on a hired swing who may swing their legs only as long and as high as the fee they gave the swing's owner allows. Whoever pays little gets a short ride; whoever pays more is entitled to more.
More broadly, it states a rule of proportion between what a person spends on something and the enjoyment they may take from it, rather than a general call to thrift. Demanding a fuller experience than one's payment covers is unreasonable, and the provider owes no more than what was paid for.
- When it is used
Say it when someone expects more benefit, service, or pleasure than they paid for, reminding them that what they get matches what they spent. It can also justify a provider giving only as much as the fee covers.
Cite or copy proverb
How this record reached us: Editorially sourced.
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