Unpuzzling "A Fool and His Money Are Soon Parted"

Popular computer puzzle-maker Cliff Johnson plans to release a brand-new computer role-playing puzzle, titled The Fool and His Money. Sequel to Johnson's award-winning 1987 entry, The Fool's Errand, this game will be available on several platforms, including Mac, Windows XP and Windows Vista.

"A fool and his money are soon parted" is an oft-quoted adage, a saw and a popular proverb. Where did this statement originate? Who said it first? Is it true? And what does it mean?

Who said, "A fool and his money are soon parted"?

Thomas Tusser, a 16^th Century British farmer, horticulturalist, chorister, musician and writer, first penned the words, "A fool and his money are soon parted."

Thomas Tusser's most famous book, published in 1557, was titled One Hundreth Good Pointes of Husbandrie. (This work was amplified and republished in 1573 as Five Hundreth Pointes of Good Husbandrie.)

What is meant by the expression, "A fool and his money are soon parted"?

What did Tusser mean when he said, "A fool and his money are soon parted"?

The import behind this statement is quite clear. Wise stewardship of money is essential to financial security. Foolish fiscal handling leads easily to loss.

Scam artists, shell game hosts and snake oil salesmen have capitalized on this condition throughout human history. Fools are easy prey for the unprincipled. It has always been so.

According to American circus legends, P.T. Barnum once said, "There's a sucker born every minute." Although the veracity of this claim and quote are unproven, the statement seems somehow to echo Tusser's words, "A fool and his money are soon parted."

What popular cultural references have been made to the expression, "A fool and his money are soon parted"?

This idiomatic phrase, including both wisdom and wit, has been a traditional favorite for authors, lyricists and even crossword puzzle writers.

Former Beatle Paul McCartney composed a song, "Come and Get It," for ex-bandmate Ringo Starr and Badfinger and the film, The Magic Christian, in 1969. The song included the line, "Will you walk away from a fool and his money?"

In 2008, George Barr McCutcheon published A Fool and His Money in both English and Spanish.

John Rothchild authored a financial book, titled A Fool and His Money: The Odyssey of an Average Investor, published in 1998.

Ann Wroe wrote A Fool and His Money: Life in a Partitioned Town in Fourteenth-Century France, which rolled off the presses in 1996.

Several musicians have included the expression in their work. Most recently, John Catherty, Eddie and the Cruisers and even Wang Chung have produced works that proclaimed, "A fool and his money are soon parted."

What other popular or familiar quotations have come from the originator of the expression, "A fool and his money are soon parted?"

Thomas Tusser has been credited with several other familiar quotations. Many of these sayings also focused on practicality, frugality and money management. Here are a few quotations from Thomas Tusser:

"At Christmas play and make good cheer, for Christmas comes but once a year."

"God sendeth and giveth both mouth and meat."

"In doing of either, let wit bear a stroke, for buying or selling of pig in a poke."

"Look ere thou leap, see ere thou go."

"Make hunger thy sauce, as a medicine for health."

"Seek home for rest, for home is best."

"Sweet April showers do spring May flowers."

"Who goeth a borrowing goeth a sorrowing. Few lend (but fools) their working tools."

Sources:

http://hcs.osu.edu/hort/history/046.html

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com

http://thinkexist.com

http://www.brainyquote.com

http://www.famousquotesandauthors.com

http://www.gardenhistoryinfo.com/gardenpages/tusser.html

http://www.goenglish.com/Idioms

http://www.historybuff.com/library/refbarnum.html

http://www.lyricstime.com/badfinger-come-and-get-it-lyrics.html

http://www.quotationspage.com

http://www.thefoolandhismoney.com/05-the-fool-and-his-money/index.htm