“Pay peanuts get monkeys”

[PennyWorth]

Is it offensive/racist to say this about a dodgy builder?

Well how much lower can you pay someone in a job?

Definitely not racist but it is offensive.

There are plenty of people being paid peanuts who aren't monkeys.

I have never liked this saying because it assumes people on low wages are useless idiots.

Well the job was done cheaply and badly. Didn’t comply with building regulations and now they have to redo it apparently.
That was my friends reasoning for saying it.

But as the PP mentioned above - its not about minimum or even low wage. Its about paying less than the going rate.

Yes, that's kind of what I was trying to say, though. By saying that the phrase 'pay peanuts get monkeys' is racist, you're unmeaningly equating black people with monkeys as why would talking about 'monkeys' have anything to do with race anyway.

It isn't (or wasn't intended originally) as a racist insult but I can see how it could be taken as one particularly if the builder was of a dark skinned ethnicity. I would be quite careful about using it at all these days.

To make the same point I tend to say "buy cheap, buy twice" which means broadly the same thing (and is very often true!)

The definition of the term:

'If you pay very low wages, you will only attract incompetent or unskilled workers (because better workers can go elsewhere to earn better wages). "Peanuts" is a slang term for low wages, and "monkeys" implies stupidity.'

Employers are often paying 'less than the going rate' because the competition for jobs has increased with the growing population to the point that people are willing/having to accept lower pay just to get a job.

I just say “you get what you pay for”.

I'd refer to them as 'Cowboys' rather than 'monkeys.'

"Pay peanuts, get monkeys" is not racist. Although as a PP points out, if the tradesperson in question is black then it would be wise to consider that the word "monkey" is also used as a racial slur. It is easy to see that someone would be aware of the word as a racial slur and would then (incorrectly , IMO) extrapolate that any use of the word "monkey" as a derogatory name for another person could be considered racist. I don't understand the logic that this makes them racist themselves, though. How have you reached that conclusion?

@Kendodd yes I was thinking about that T shirt, think it was H&M. I read a story about it being pulled at the time but genuinely didn't get the inference. I looked it up and was shocked because the previous day I had brought the kids I mind to monkey bars and as they took turns I was calling them monkeys. One child was very good and took many turns and I was 'Tom is a monkey!! Look at monkey Tom' etc. Tom is black and I was freaking out in case someone misinterpreted me!!

Does anyone know why low wages are described as peanuts. It's not just the phrase the OP mentions, people often say something costs peanuts if it's very cheap. Peanuts are very expensive! So there must be backstory there.

Are your friends racist in other ways op ? I mean if these builders have a bad reputation why did they employ them ?

No they’re not. It wasn’t my friends builder. It was my friend’s neighbour we were talking about.

That’s not the meaning of the phrase though. It’s effectively “you get what you pay for”

it means if you don’t pay an appropriate wage for the task you will get someone who can’t do the job to the appropriate standard.

If you need a plumber but won’t pay the going rate, you’ll get someone who isn’t a trained plumber.

doesn’t it come from monkeys actually being “paid” in peanuts? They were trained for jobs, photo ops etc, and would be rewarded with peanuts.

The meaning of the phrase is:

If you pay very low wages, you will only attract incompetent or unskilled workers (because better workers can go elsewhere to earn better wages). "Peanuts" is a slang term for low wages, and "monkeys" implies stupidity.'

In the context of this particular situation, I would agree it means 'you get what you pay for.” They have paid a cheaper price and got a bad result.

My issue with this saying is that it can and often is applied to people on minimum wage and works on the assumption that people making peanuts are automatically monkeys.

It's not in the slightest racist