Meaning
Wealth, or the promise of it, gets attention, influence and results faster than argument or merit can; used cynically or resignedly to explain why moneyed interests usually prevail. A fixed proverbial comment rather than a flexible idiom, typically said about lobbying, sport, politics or negotiations. Informal, proverbial and usually cynical or world-weary in tone. Regional use: General English.
Origin
The compact modern proverb is 19th-century, but its lineage is older. The Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs traces it to Giovanni Torriano's 1666 collection of Italian proverbs, which renders the idea as 'Man prates, but gold speaks', and to Aphra Behn's 1681 play The Rover, an early instance of 'Money speaks'. Wiktionary, citing that Oxford collection, records the short English form as 19th-century, and American dictionaries label the figurative use of 'talk' (to be efficacious) informal. Ruder extensions such as 'money talks, bullshit walks' are 20th-century additions; the underlying notion, that cash persuades where words fail, was proverbial long before the modern wording settled.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- money talks louder than words
- money talks, bullshit walks
- money talks, wealth whispers
Usage Examples
- Money talks: the stadium was approved within weeks of the sponsorship deal being announced.
- You can protest all you like, but money talks when the broadcast contracts come up for renewal.
- He assumed money talks and offered double the asking price on the spot.