[Idiom] To his own cost / at his own expence

[Giulia]

Hello,

I was wondering about the difference between to his own cost / at his own expense / at a high price.

Is this sentence correct?

"He learned to his own cost that the future could not be planned"

Would American English and British English people say this in the same way?

Thank you.

 

[jutfrank]

Where did you come across the phrase to his own cost?

Can you show us the dictionary entry or the text in which you saw this?

 

[Giulia]

I found it here: https://www.collinsdictionary.com/it/dizionario/inglese/to-ones-cost

 

[jutfrank]

Thank you. Please provide the source of any sentences you ask about in your original post. If you make up the sentences yourself, let us know this too.

Yes, the sentence in post #1 is fine in both British and American English.

 

[probus]

As for the difference, to his own cost means that he suffered bad consequences, while at his own expense just means he bore the expense of something. In that case the thing could have been either good or bad.

 

[5jj]

"He learned to his own cost that the future could not be planned"

I can't find that sentence on the page you linked us to. I would delete 'own'.

 

[Giulia]

The sentence is mine. I am translating a text and was looking for the correct expression to use.

Doesn't "own" give a stronger meaning? Or is it unnecessary in this case?

 

[probus]

I would delete 'own'.

If "to his cost" was by itself I would certainly agree with omitting own. But in conjunction with at his own expense doesn't parallelism argue for keeping it?

 

[jutfrank]

If "to his cost" was by itself I would certainly agree with omitting own. But in conjunction with at his own expense doesn't parallelism argue for keeping it?

What parallelism? The phrase at his own expense doesn't come into it. This is a translation from an unknown Italian phrase. We just have to assume that Giulia is correct in thinking that the sentence with to his own cost is a good translation of whatever the Italian one is.

 

[probus]

Hello,

I was wondering about the difference between to his own cost / at his own expense / at a high price.

That is the question I was trying to answer. With respect, jutfrank, to his own cost clearly does form part of the question. I corrected to to at.

 

[jutfrank]

That is the question I was trying to answer. With respect, jutfrank, to his own cost clearly does form part of the question. I corrected to to at.

Okay, I think I see what you mean now.

Well, I think you're right that at his own cost could be equivalent to at his own expense, such as in:

He paid for the party at his own expense.
He paid for the party at his own cost.

These both mean he spent his own money. There's no sense that he suffered in any way. (I'm not certain about the second, but I think it seems okay.)

But, to his own cost has a quite different sense, in that it means the person has had a bad deal in some way.

Do I understand you correctly, probus? If so, yes, I agree.

 

[probus]

We are in full agreement jutfrank.