Avoir toujours la bourse à la main = To have always one’s hand in one’s pocket.
Loger le diable dans sa bourse = To be penniless.
[Coins generally had a cross on them, which was a protection against the devil. (See [Diable].) Compare Goldsmith, Vicar of Wakefield, xxi.—“We have not seen the cross of her money.”]
Ami jusqu’à la bourse = A lukewarm friend.
Sans bourse délier = Without any expense.
Bout
Il tira à bout portant = He fired point-blank.
*Au bout de l’aune faut (or, manque) le drap = There is an end to everything; The last straw breaks the camel’s back.
Il est économe de bouts de chandelle = He is penny wise and pound foolish.
[Or, Il fait des économies de bouts de chandelle.]