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Glite Dictionary
to cut one's coat according to one's cloth

to cut one's coat according to one's cloth

7.7
To spend only what you can afford
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : ajustar el gasto a los ingresos
  • We must cut our coat according to our cloth if we want to avoid running into debt.

Examples

  • Learning to cut one's coat according to one's cloth helped Sarah manage her finances effectively.

  • He always cuts his coat according to his cloth.

  • He advised his children to cut their coat according to their cloth and not overspend.

  • You should cut your coat according to your cloth!

  • He advised his children to cut their coat according to their cloth and not overspend.

  • Learning to cut one's coat according to one's cloth helped Sarah manage her finances effectively.

  • We must cut our coat according to our cloth if we want to avoid running into debt.

Synonyms

to make ends meet
vsto cut one's coat according to one's cloth
  • Informal
56 3.5

To live on a small amount of money

focuses on a general habit of budgeting to fit available resources
to tighten one's belt
vsto cut one's coat according to one's cloth
  • Informal
5 5.8

Spend less and live more simply because you have less money

means acting to fit choices to available resources rather than in crisis only
to cut your cloth to suit your purse
vsto cut one's coat according to one's cloth
  • Archaic
7.9

To live within the money you have

is a broader rule to match spending to what resources allow

Antonyms

to overspend
7 4.4

To use more money than you can afford or planned to use

How Thrifty

to cut one's coat according to one's cloth
  • Informal
7.7
to overspend
7 4.4

Surface Forms

cut one's coat according to one's cloth infinitive
cut one's coat according to one's cloth past
cut one's coat according to one's cloth past participle
cutting one's coat according to one's cloth present participle
cuts one's coat according to one's cloth third person singular

Morphology

cut + one + coat + accord + to + one + cloth

The proverb's meaning ('live within one's means') is directly inferable from the literal image of cutting a coat to match the available cloth: a learner who knows 'cut', 'coat' and 'cloth' can map tailoring to adjusting to resources. The composition is straightforward and reflects a cross-linguistic practical logic, so despite slightly old-fashioned wording a B1 learner knowing the constituents should grasp the intended sense.

Etymology

Cut one's coat according to one's cloth comes from making clothes: one popular story says tailors would cut a smaller coat if they had less cloth, because you cannot make a bigger coat than the material you have. So it means 'to live within one's means' or 'to act according to the resources one has'.