put your pride in your pocket
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
Lay it aside for the nonce. To be in, or out of pocket. To be a gainer or a loser by some transaction.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “put your pride in your pocket” mean?
Lay it aside for the nonce. To be in, or out of pocket. To be a gainer or a loser by some transaction.
Is “put your pride in your pocket” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.