penny pincher

American  

[pen-ee pin-cher] / ˈpɛn i ˌpɪn tʃər /

noun

1. a miserly or stingy person.

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penny pincher Idioms  

1. see pinch pennies.

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Usage

What does penny pincher mean? A penny pincher is a person who’s very careful or stingy with their money—they don’t like to spend it and they don’t like to give it away.The image is that of someone clutching tightly to even the smallest amount of money so it doesn’t leave their hands. Penny typically refers to a one-cent coin.Penny pincher is synonymous with the word miser, but whereas miser is always used negatively (to refer to Ebenezer Scrooge types), penny pincher can be used either in a negative way or in a more neutral way to refer to someone who’s just trying to save money because they’re on a tight budget.The same thing can be said about the related idiomatic verb pinch pennies, meaning to be very, very careful about how one spends one’s money—it can mean to be thrifty or frugal, or to be miserly.Penny pincher is sometimes spelled with a hyphen: penny-pincher.Example: Ellen’s rich uncle was such a penny pincher that he used to give her a pencil for her birthday.

Other Word Forms

• penny-pinching noun

Etymology

Origin of penny pincher

First recorded in 1920–25; penny ( def. ) + pincher ( def. ); pinch ( def. ) (in sense “to economize unduly”); pinchpenny ( def. )

Example Sentences

She is the penny pincher, and she’s the motivator for keeping everybody’s spirits up, sort of.

From Los Angeles Times

Who would have ever imagined that working for a penny pincher like Frank McCourt would be a plus?

From Los Angeles Times

I’m a natural-born penny pincher, so it just seemed crazy to me that folks would go on vacation without having an emergency fund.

From Washington Post

In hindsight, it worked out very well for Kendall Ellis that she had become an expert penny pincher during her four years running track for USC.

From Los Angeles Times

I generally don’t bristle at being called cheap because I am a proud penny pincher.

From Washington Post