skinflint

English

Etymology

From the phrase skin a flint (“go to extreme lengths for the sake of gain or economy”), from the brittleness and hardness of flint which makes it almost impossible to remove just its skin without shattering it.[1]

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈskɪnflɪnt/
    • Audio (Southern England)(file)
  • Rhymes: -ɪnt

Noun

skinflint (plural skinflints)

  1. One who is excessively stingy or cautious with money; a tightwad; a miser.
    • 1842, Gogol, Dead Souls, chapter 4
      You know, he is quite a different sort from the Public Prosecutor and our other provincial skinflints--fellows who shiver in their shoes before they will spend a single kopeck.

Synonyms

Translations
miser — see miser

References
  1. Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language: College Edition, Cleveland and New York: The World Publishing Company, 1962, page 1367
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