Word Of The Day: Skinflint

• skinflint •

Pronunciation: skin-flint • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: A miser, a niggardly person, a tightwad, a person so greedy he would try to get skin from a flint.

Notes: Today's Good Word may be the longest word in English that is pronounced the way it is spelled (see Pronunciation). The now famous poem by Gerald Trenite The Chaos reflects the more usual relationships between English pronunciation and spelling. In other respects, though, this word is not alone in the world; it possesses an adjective, skinflinty which boasts an adverb, skinflintily. and a noun, skinflintiness.

In Play: For some reason, skinflintiness is most often associated with old people: "That old skinflint has the first nickel he ever earned." That may be the result of the ability to manage money coming later in life. Whatever the reason, it is unfair; skinflints come in all sizes, genders, and ages: "Is my baby already such a skinflint that she won't share her cookie with her daddy?" You guess the age here.

 

I hope when he sees the gift I got him for our 10th anniversary the skinflint side of him won't make me take it back!