Spendthrift

Spendthrift

A spendthrift (also called profligate) is someone who spends money prodigiously and who is extravagant and recklessly wasteful. The origin of the word is someone who is able to spend money acquired by the thrift of predecessors or ancestors.

Historical examples of spendthrifts include George IV, Ludwig II, and Marie Antoinette. The term is often applied sarcastically in the press as an adjective to governments who are thought to be wasting public money. William Hogarth's "A Rake's Progress" displays in graphical form the downwardly spiraling fortunes of a wealthy but spendthrift son and heir who loses his money, and who as a consequence is imprisoned in the Fleet Prison and ultimately Bedlam.

Legal issues

The modern legal remedy for spendthrifts is usually bankruptcy. However, during the 19th and 20th centuries, a few jurisdictions, such as the U.S. states of Oregon and Massachusetts, experimented with laws under which the family of such a person could have him legally declared a "spendthrift" by a court of law. [William Herbert Page, "The Law of Contracts", 2nd ed. (Cincinnati: W.H. Anderson Co., 1920), 2848-2849.] In turn, such persons were considered to lack the legal capacity to enter into binding contracts. [See ORS 126.335 (repealed Or. Stat. 1961, ch. 344, § 109). Oregon's unusual law resulted in a famous conflict-of-laws opinion: "Lilienthal v. Kaufman", 239 Ore. 1, 395 P.2d 543 (1964).] ["Chandler v. Simmons", 97 Mass. 508, 514 (1867).] Even though such laws made life harder for creditors (who now had the burden of ensuring that any prospective debtor had not been judicially declared a spendthrift), they were thought to be justified by the public policy of keeping a spendthrift's family from ending up in the poorhouse or on welfare. ["Olshen v. Kaufman", 235 Or. 423, 385 P.2d 161 (1963). This case involved the same defendant and was relied upon by the majority in "Lilienthal". Both cases involved joint ventures for the sale of binoculars.]

Such laws have since been abolished in favor of modern bankruptcy, which is more favorable to creditors.

References

External links

* [http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-spe1.htm "how thrift applied to spend can end up being someone who is not thrifty"] (from http://www.worldwidewords.org)
* [http://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=7031 "A Rakes Progress"]


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  • spendthrift — spend·thrift 1 / spend ˌthrift/ n: a person who spends money foolishly, profusely, or wastefully spendthrift 2 adj 1: of, relating to, or being a spendthrift 2: of or relating to a spendthrift trust Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. M …   Law dictionary

  • spendthrift — spendthrift, prodigal, profligate, waster, wastrel are comparable when they denote a person who dissipates his resources foolishly and wastefully. All are more or less pejorative terms but they may differ significantly in emphasis and application …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • spendthrift — spend‧thrift [ˈspendˌθrɪft] noun [countable] someone who spends money in a careless and wasteful way, even when they do not have a lot of it * * * Ⅰ. spendthrift UK US /ˈspendθrɪft/ noun [C] ► someone who spends too much money without thinking… …   Financial and business terms

  • Spendthrift — Spend thrift , n. One who spends money profusely or improvidently; a prodigal; one who lavishes or wastes his estate. Also used figuratively. [1913 Webster] A woman who was a generous spendthrift of life. Mrs. R. H. Davis. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Spendthrift — Spend thrift, a. Prodigal; extravagant; wasteful. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • spendthrift — c.1600, from SPEND (Cf. spend) + THRIFT (Cf. thrift) in sense of savings, profits, wealth. Replaced earlier scattergood (1570s) and spend all (1550s) …   Etymology dictionary

  • spendthrift — [n] person careless with money big spender*, dissipater, high roller*, improvident, imprudent, prodigal, profligate, spender, sport, squanderer, waster, wastrel; concepts 348,353,423 Ant. miser, saver …   New thesaurus

  • spendthrift — ► NOUN ▪ a person who spends money in an extravagant, irresponsible way …   English terms dictionary

  • spendthrift — [spend′thrift΄] n. a person who spends money carelessly or wastefully; squanderer adj. wasteful; extravagant …   English World dictionary

  • spendthrift — [[t]spe̱ndθrɪft[/t]] spendthrifts N COUNT (disapproval) If you call someone a spendthrift, you mean that they spend too much money. ADJ GRADED: usu ADJ n Spendthrift is also an adjective. ...his father s spendthrift ways …   English dictionary

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