skinflint

skinflint
skinflintily, adv.skinflintiness, n.skinflinty, adj.
/skin"flint'/, n.
a mean, niggardly person; miser.
[1690-1700; SKIN + FLINT]
Syn. hoarder, pinchpenny, niggard, Scrooge.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • skinflint — [skinflint΄] n. [< thieves slang: lit., one who would skin a flint for gain or economy] a niggardly person; miser …   English World dictionary

  • Skinflint — Skin flint , n. [Skin + flint.] A penurious person; a miser; a niggard. Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • skinflint — 1700, miser, slang; lit. kind of person who would skin a flint to save or gain something, from SKIN (Cf. skin) (v.) + FLINT (Cf. flint). Flay flint in same sense is from 1670s …   Etymology dictionary

  • skinflint — [n] cheapskate hoarder, miser, moneygrubber*, penny pincher*, pinchfist*, pinchpenny*, Scrooge*, tightwad; concepts 348,412,423 …   New thesaurus

  • skinflint — ► NOUN informal ▪ a miser …   English terms dictionary

  • Skinflint — A skinflint is a person considered so miserly that he would even skin a flint to save something of it. A flint is a small piece of flintstone used to strike a spark in the tinderbox. The flints in modern day lighters aren t made of flintstone,… …   Wikipedia

  • skinflint — UK [ˈskɪnˌflɪnt] / US noun [countable] Word forms skinflint : singular skinflint plural skinflints informal someone who does not like to spend or give money …   English dictionary

  • skinflint — noun one who is excessively stingy or cautious with money; a tightwad; a miser That skinflint would reuse dental floss if he thought it would save money …   Wiktionary

  • skinflint — [[t]skɪ̱nflɪnt[/t]] skinflints N COUNT (disapproval) If you describe someone as a skinflint, you are saying that they are a mean person who hates spending money. Syn: miser …   English dictionary

  • skinflint — /ˈskɪnflɪnt / (say skinflint) noun a mean, niggardly person. {skin (verb) + flint; that is, a mean person who would skin or shave a small piece off a flint to start a fire} …  

  • skinflint —    Used since the eighteenth century to describe a miserly person, one who would attempt to skin a flint in order to save money. The Opies, however, report in The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren, that ‘skinflint’ is frequently used by… …   A dictionary of epithets and terms of address

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