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pinchpenny

pinchpenny

1 9.2
Not willing to spend money, even for small things
  • adjective
  • /ˈpɪnʧˌpɛni/
  • Offensive
: tacaño
  • Her pinchpenny habits make it difficult for her friends to plan outings together.

Examples

  • The permitting process for construction is the way it is in part because interested parties, usually as a result of some bad outcome (the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire and many bridge collapses and falling buildings in minor earthquakes and Ford Pintos with pinchpenny explosive "engineering" of their fuel fillers come to mind), use the "rule of law" to set some standards.

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  • He is such a pinchpenny that he refuses to buy coffee and always brings his own.

  • Being a pinchpenny, he often searches for the cheapest options when shopping.

Synonyms

cheap
vspinchpenny
93 6.5

Not willing to spend money even when needed

is the same miserly tendency but may be less socially embarrassing
stingy
vspinchpenny
31 5.2

Not willing to spend money or give help to others

is similar but can be less about personal meanness and more habit
miserly
vspinchpenny
3 7.9

Not willing to spend or give money even when they have enough

is the same stingy attitude but more colloquial in tone
parsimonious
vspinchpenny
2 9.9

A person who is unwilling to spend money and avoids buying things

is equally miserly but felt as more informal or personal
penny-pinching
vspinchpenny
  • Informal
2 7.5

Not willing to spend much money

is broader, covering unwillingness to spend both small and large amounts
tightfisted
vspinchpenny
  • Offensive
2 8.0

A person who does not like to spend money

is the same stinginess but expressed more neutrally in modern use
chintzy
vspinchpenny
  • Informal
1 8.8

Not willing to spend money

is similar in unwillingness but not necessarily publicly embarrassing
penurious
vspinchpenny
  • Formal
1 9.9

Not willing to spend money even when they have it

is similar but used more commonly in everyday speech
pennywise
vspinchpenny
1 7.5

Careful with small amounts of money and everyday spending

is more negative, implying harsh selfishness about spending
picayunish
vspinchpenny
  • Archaic
1 9.9

Unwilling to spend money, even for small things

is similar but covers both petty and larger scale frugality
hardfisted
vspinchpenny
  • Offensive
1 9.9

Not willing to spend or share money

is like this but often sounds less severe in tone
cheeseparing
vspinchpenny
  • Archaic
1 9.9

Being very unwilling to spend money

is the same reluctance but expressed in neutral everyday language
closefisted
vspinchpenny
1 8.2

Not willing to spend or give money

is similar but can be less about physical tightness and more attitude
scrimy
vspinchpenny
  • Archaic
9.9

Unwilling to give money or things

is broader and more negative about overall money habits

Antonyms

449 1.6

Willing to give more than is expected, especially money or time

31 7.1

Spending much more money than is needed

How Stingy

pinchpenny
  • Offensive
1 9.2
stingy
31 5.2
frugal
30 4.9
thrifty
11 4.4

Surface Forms

pinchpenny positive

Morphology

pinchpenny = pinch + penny (transparent) = pinch + penny

The adjective is directly derived from the compound meaning 'to pinch (save) pennies' so learners who know 'pinch' and 'penny' can infer 'stingy'.

Etymology

Pinchpenny comes from the simple image of pinch 'to squeeze' and penny 'a small coin', as if someone holds a coin tight to save it. So a pinchpenny person is very unwilling to spend money and is seen as stingy.