19th century, from earlier forms such as gold speaks (1666, in full, “Man prates, but gold speaks.”), as translation from Italian by Giovanni Torriano, in Piazza Universale di Proverbi Italiani: or, A Common Place of Italian Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, 179.[1]
money talks
- It is easier to accomplish goals using money instead of just talk.
2014 April 25, Paul Krugman, “The Piketty Panic”, in The New York Times[1], →ISSN:Money still talks — indeed, thanks in part to the Roberts court, it talks louder than ever. Still, ideas matter too, shaping both how we talk about society and, eventually, what we do.
Here talk is used metaphorically to mean “has actual effect, shows seriousness”, as in similar actions speak louder than words. Contrast with sense “empty words, without impact”, as in talk is cheap and talk the talk.
it is easier to accomplish goals using money
- Arabic: please add this translation if you can
- Chinese:
- Mandarin: 錢可通神／钱可通神 (zh) (qiánkě tōngshén), 錢能通神／钱能通神 (zh) (qiánnéng tōngshén), 金錢萬能／金钱万能 (zh) (jīnqián wànnéng), 有錢能使鬼推磨／有钱能使鬼推磨 (zh) (yǒu qián néng shǐ guǐ tuīmò)
- Esperanto: mono parolas
- Finnish: raha ratkaisee
- French: l’argent parle (fr) (literally “money talks”)
- German: Bargeld lacht (literally “[cash] money laughs”), Geld regiert die Welt (de) (literally “money rules the world”)
- Hebrew: הכסף מדבר (hakésef m'dabér)
- Hindi: पैसा बोलता है (paisā boltā hai)
- Hungarian: pénz beszél, kutya ugat (hu)
- Irish: bíonn urraim don airgead
- Japanese: 金が物を言う (kane ga mono o iu), 地獄の沙汰も金次第 (ja) (jigoku no sata mo kane shidai), 閻魔大王が下す地獄での判決も金次第では軽くもなる (Enma Daiō ga kudasu jigoku de no hanketsu mo kane shidaide wa karuku mo naru)
- Korean: 돈이 좌우한다 (doni jwauhanda)
- Russian: де́ньги реша́ют всё (dénʹgi rešájut vsjo), де́ньги пра́вят ми́ром (dénʹgi právjat mírom)
- Spanish: poderoso caballero es don dinero (literally “Mr. Money is a powerful gentleman”), por dinero baila el mono (literally “the monkey dances for money”), la pela es la pela (Spain, colloquial, dated), el dinero manda
- Turkish: para konuşur
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- ^ The Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs, p. 212
