A “sunk cost” is a cost already incurred that cannot be recovered; it describes the past cost itself, not automatically the mistake of continuing because of it. Do not confuse “sunk cost” with the “sunk-cost fallacy,” which is the separate decision-making error of letting irrecoverable past costs distort a current choice.
ReviewedEvidence1 sourceSectionPhrases & Idioms
Quick answer
A “sunk cost” is a cost already incurred that cannot be recovered; it describes the past cost itself, not automatically the mistake of continuing because of it.
Key details
Canonical Formsunk cost
Core Meaningmoney or other committed cost already spent or invested that cannot be recovered
Further guidance
History Boundary
Current meaning is published without asserting unsupported inventor, coinage date, or absolute-first-use chronology.
Meaning
money or other committed cost already spent or invested that cannot be recovered
Usage Boundary
Do not confuse “sunk cost” with the “sunk-cost fallacy,” which is the separate decision-making error of letting irrecoverable past costs distort a current choice.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
A “blank check” can literally leave an amount unspecified or figuratively give someone very broad authority or freedom to act. The guide stays with current documented meaning and does not add unsupported origin chronology.
False economy describes a cost-cutting choice whose short-term saving is outweighed by later costs or disadvantages. The phrase is useful when the apparent economy is misleading rather than when something is merely expensive.
“Golden handcuffs” are valuable payments or benefits intended to make an employee stay rather than leave for another job. This guide stays with the current documented meaning and does not assert unsupported origin chronology.
A “golden handshake” is a substantial payment made to an employee when they leave a job, commonly as a reward for long or good service. This guide stays with the current documented meaning and does not assert unsupported origin chronology.
To “have skin in the game” is to have a direct personal stake in what happens, often a financial one. The guide keeps current meaning separate from unsupported origin claims.
Use “white elephant” for a costly possession, project, or facility whose usefulness does not justify its expense or burden. The guide stays with current documented meaning and does not assert unsupported origin chronology.
If something “costs an arm and a leg,” it is very or extremely expensive. The expression is well documented in American mid-twentieth-century material; archival-search research identifies figurative examples in The Record Changer in 1948, while the familiar story that portrait painters charged by the number of limbs shown lacks evidence.
A “change of heart” means changing your opinion or feelings about something. The guide establishes the present-day idiom and does not invent an exact coinage or first-use account.
