stony-broke

1 9.3

With no money at all

adjective

Informal

: sin un centavo

During the summer, he became stony-broke from spending all his savings on travel.

Examples

I was flat and stony broke

Nowhere Boy (2009)
After losing his job, he found himself stony-broke and unable to pay his bills.
And stony broke and face to face with starvation.

Waterloo Bridge (1931)
- Dedalus, I'm stony broke.

Bloom (2003)
She was stony-broke after trying to start her own business without any funding.

Synonyms

poor

vsstony-broke

∞ 1.0

Having little money or possessions

is the stronger claim of having absolutely no money

broke

vsstony-broke

Informal

237 1.8

Having no money

is the more emphatic phrase for total lack of money

impoverished

vsstony-broke

50 6.2

People or places that have very little money and few things they need

is about an immediate, total lack of money now

penniless

vsstony-broke

24 4.3

Having no money

is the informal, slightly stronger everyday expression

destitute

vsstony-broke

20 6.5

Very poor and without basic things like food or a home

focuses on money absence without necessarily implying lack of basics

poverty-stricken

vsstony-broke

9 5.1

Very poor and needing help to live

describes total lack of money without implying external aid

broke-ass

vsstony-broke

Offensive

2 9.9

Very poor and having almost no money

is similar but uses neutral wording without slang emphasis

broken

vsstony-broke

1 7.2

Having no money after a big loss

describes being penniless without implying past financial collapse

stone-broke

vsstony-broke

Informal

1 8.6

Having no money at all

means the same absolute lack of money

skint

vsstony-broke

Slang

1 9.9

Having little or no money

is a stronger phrase stressing total pennilessness

bust

vsstony-broke

Informal

1 5.4

Having no money to spend

focuses more on personal total lack of money rather than legal ruin

impecunious

vsstony-broke

1 9.9

Having little or no money

is the informal everyday way to say complete lack of money

penurious

vsstony-broke

Formal

1 9.9

Very poor and unable to pay for basic needs

focuses on having no money but not necessarily lacking necessities

poor as a church mouse

vsstony-broke

Informal

1 7.6

Having almost no money

says total lack of money in plain modern terms

moneyless

vsstony-broke

5.7

Having no money to pay for things

casts the situation as complete and often informal lack of funds

poor as a rat

vsstony-broke

Informal

8.3

Having almost no money or things

is the straightforward claim of having no money at all

beggarly

vsstony-broke

8.1

Very poor and living with almost no money

describes having no money without the beggar image

in straitened circumstances

vsstony-broke

Formal

8.6

A person who has little money and cannot buy basic things

is about having no money at all rather than just tight finances

pinched

vsstony-broke

6.5

A person who has little money to pay basic costs

describes complete absence of money rather than a temporary squeeze

Antonyms

rich

∞ 1.0

Having a lot of money and valuable things

wealthy

520 2.5

Having a lot of money and many expensive things

affluent

1 6.0

A person who has a lot of money

How Poor

stony-broke

Informal

1 9.3

penniless

24 4.3

broke

Informal

237 1.8

Surface Forms

stony-broke positive

Morphology

stony-broke = stony + broke (semi-transparent) = stony + broke

The component 'broke' clearly signals 'penniless', but 'stony' functions as an idiomatic intensifier rather than a literal modifier, so the full sense is partially idiomatic.

Etymology

The word stony-broke joins stone, which is used to mean 'completely' as in stone-cold, and broke, which means 'without money', so it means 'completely without money'.