Burn a hole in your pocket

[0475] Penny-pincher

🎲 Tighten your belt
English Idioms
All Idioms

Explanation

  • A person who is extremely careful with money, dislikes spending it, and tries to save every possible cent (or penny); someone considered stingy or overly frugal.
  • Usually has a negative or critical connotation.

Origin

  • Dates back to the early 20th century.
  • Evokes the image of someone literally pinching or holding onto every single penny, reluctant to let it go.
  • Reflects a focus on the smallest unit of currency, highlighting extreme frugality.

Synonyms & Related Expressions

  • Cheapskate (Strongly negative, implies meanness)
  • Tightwad (Negative, very unwilling to spend)
  • Scrooge (Reference to the Dickens character, very stingy)
  • Miser (Negative, hoards money)
  • Frugal (Often neutral or positive, implies carefulness and lack of waste)
  • Thrifty (Similar to frugal, positive connotation)
  • Economical (Neutral, focuses on efficiency)

Alternatives

Slang/Informal:

  • Stingy (adj.)
  • Tight (adj., UK/Aus slang for stingy)
  • Skinflint (Old-fashioned, very stingy person)

Vulgar/Emphatic:

  • Cheap fuck / Tight-arsed (UK/Aus, very vulgar)

Milder/Formal:

  • Parsimonious (Formal, often negative)
  • Excessively frugal
  • Unwilling to spend

Situational Appropriateness

  • Informal. It's a derogatory term.
  • Use with caution, as it's insulting to call someone this directly. Usually used when talking *about* someone.
  • Avoid in formal or professional settings unless discussing character traits in literature or hypotheticals, perhaps.

Misunderstanding Warnings

  • Learners should understand this term is judgmental and negative, unlike frugal or thrifty which can be positive.

Examples

  • He's such a penny-pincher; he never wants to split the cost of anything.
  • My aunt is a real penny-pincher; she reuses tea bags!
  • Being a penny-pincher helped her save enough for a down payment. (Can occasionally be used neutrally/positively, but less common).

Dialogue

Layla: Should we invite Dave to the group dinner?

Omar: We could, but you know he's such a penny-pincher. He'll spend the whole time calculating exactly what he owes down to the cent.

Layla: Ugh, you're right. It makes things awkward. Maybe let's just keep it to the usual crowd this time.

Omar: Agreed. Less stress.

Social Media Examples

  • Twitter: My flatmate is such a penny-pincher, he complains if I use 'too much' washing up liquid. 🙄 #livingwithroommates
  • Reddit comment (r/Frugal): There's a difference between being frugal and being a penny-pincher who makes life miserable for everyone.
  • Facebook post: Confession: I might be turning into a penny-pincher. Just spent 10 mins comparing prices on canned tomatoes. 😂 #adulting #savingmoney

Response Patterns

If someone is described as a penny-pincher:

  • Agreement/Sharing anecdotes: Oh, tell me about it! Remember when he..., Yeah, he really is.
  • Disagreement/Defence (less common): I think he's just being careful., Maybe 'frugal' is a better word?

If someone self-identifies (rarely, maybe humorously):

  • Amusement: Haha, are you really that bad?
  • Understanding: Well, it's good to save money.

Common Follow-up Questions/Actions

  • People might share examples of the person's penny-pinching behavior.
  • Discussion might turn to the difference between being frugal (positive/neutral) and being a penny-pincher/stingy (negative).

Conversation Starter

  • No. It's a description or label applied to a person.

Intonation

  • Often said with a critical, dismissive, or slightly exasperated tone.
  • Stress falls on PEN-ny and PINCH-er.

Generation Differences

  • Widely understood across generations. The concept of stinginess is universal.

Regional Variations

  • Common in all major English-speaking regions. Tightwad might be more American, tight (as an adjective) more British/Australian.
Burn a hole in your pocket
🎲 Tighten your belt