skinflint
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 — [[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
