fool's bargain
Deceptively poor trade
A fool's bargain is a deal that seems advantageous but ultimately costs more than it gains.
The phrase implies the person was duped or shortsighted: Trading long-term security for quick cash is a fool's bargain.
Unlike a Faustian bargain, which involves conscious sacrifice, a fool's bargain suggests the losing party didn't grasp what they were giving up.
- Faustian pactDamnation exchanged for worldly gain
- Pyrrhic victorySuccess with crippling cost
- gullibilityEase of being deceived
- poisoned chaliceApparent prize, actual curse
- raw dealUnjust treatment received
loss · gilded cage · impulsiveness · Trojan horse · siren song · empty promise · naivety · taken for a ride · wishful thinking · self-deception · false economy · selling short · exploitation · short-sightedness · snake oil · pie in the sky · overconfidence · unintended consequences
fool's bargaingood deal
Favorable price or quantity
win-win · steal · bargain · coup · sweet deal
fool's bargaincalculated risk
Hazard taken deliberately
masterstroke · sound judgment · strategic move · informed decision · no-brainer
fool, fools, foolish, foolishly, foolishness, foolery, foolhardy, bargain, bargains