"false economy" meaning in English

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "false economies",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "~"
      },
      "expansion": "false economy (countable and uncountable, plural false economies)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1943, Ward Glen Reeder, A First Course in Education",
          "text": "On the other hand, when money is saved and the efficiency of the school is injured, that is a false economy.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2023 February 8, Paul Stephen, “Network News: Hunt dismisses rumours that HS2 will not go to Euston”, in RAIL, number 976, page 25",
          "text": "If the suggestion is merely to delay the opening of Euston, then you may save some money in the very short term. But by delaying works, allowing more inflation to creep in, you will actually add to the overall cost. It would be a totally false economy.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An attempt to economize that fails because the less expensive approach is inferior in some way, or ultimately wastes more money than was saved."
      ],
      "id": "en-false_economy-en-noun-10dnGoVH",
      "links": [
        [
          "economize",
          "economize"
        ],
        [
          "expensive",
          "expensive"
        ],
        [
          "inferior",
          "inferior"
        ]
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "buy cheap, buy twice"
        },
        {
          "word": "good work ain't cheap, cheap work ain't good"
        },
        {
          "word": "if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys"
        },
        {
          "word": "if you pay bananas, you get monkeys"
        },
        {
          "word": "you buy cheap, you get cheap"
        },
        {
          "word": "you get what you pay for"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "failed attempt to economize",
          "word": "väärä säästö"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "failed attempt to economize",
          "word": "kallis säästö"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "false economy"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "false economies",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "~"
      },
      "expansion": "false economy (countable and uncountable, plural false economies)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "buy cheap, buy twice"
    },
    {
      "word": "good work ain't cheap, cheap work ain't good"
    },
    {
      "word": "if you pay peanuts, you get monkeys"
    },
    {
      "word": "if you pay bananas, you get monkeys"
    },
    {
      "word": "you buy cheap, you get cheap"
    },
    {
      "word": "you get what you pay for"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English countable nouns",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English nouns",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English uncountable nouns",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1943, Ward Glen Reeder, A First Course in Education",
          "text": "On the other hand, when money is saved and the efficiency of the school is injured, that is a false economy.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2023 February 8, Paul Stephen, “Network News: Hunt dismisses rumours that HS2 will not go to Euston”, in RAIL, number 976, page 25",
          "text": "If the suggestion is merely to delay the opening of Euston, then you may save some money in the very short term. But by delaying works, allowing more inflation to creep in, you will actually add to the overall cost. It would be a totally false economy.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "An attempt to economize that fails because the less expensive approach is inferior in some way, or ultimately wastes more money than was saved."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "economize",
          "economize"
        ],
        [
          "expensive",
          "expensive"
        ],
        [
          "inferior",
          "inferior"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "failed attempt to economize",
      "word": "väärä säästö"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "failed attempt to economize",
      "word": "kallis säästö"
    }
  ],
  "word": "false economy"
}