Nearby Words

pinch pennies

[pinch] Origin

pinch

[pinch]
verb (used with object)
1.
to squeeze or compress between the finger and thumb, the teeth, the jaws of an instrument, or the like.
2.
to constrict or squeeze painfully, as a tight shoe does.
3.
to cramp within narrow bounds or quarters: The crowd pinched him into a corner.
4.
to render (the face, body, etc.) unnaturally constricted or drawn, as pain or distress does: Years of hardship had pinched her countenance beyond recognition.
5.
Horticulture. to remove or shorten (buds or shoots) in order to produce a certain shape of the plant, improve the quality of the bloom or fruit, or increase the development of buds (often followed by out, off, or back).
EXPAND
6.
to affect with sharp discomfort or distress, as cold, hunger, or need does.
7.
to straiten in means or circumstances: The depression pinched them.
8.
to stint (a person, family, etc.) in allowance of money, food, or the like: They were severely pinched by the drought.
9.
to hamper or inconvenience by the lack of something specified: The builders were pinched by the shortage of good lumber.
10.
to stint the supply or amount of (a thing).
11.
to put a pinch or small quantity of (a powder, spice, etc.) into something.
12.
Slang.
a.
to steal.
b.
to arrest.
13.
to roll or slide (a heavy object) with leverage from a pinch bar.
14.
Nautical. to sail (a ship) so close to the wind that the sails shake slightly and the speed is reduced.
15.
Horse Racing, British. to press (a horse) to the point of exhaustion.
COLLAPSE
verb (used without object)
16.
to exert a sharp or painful constricting force: This shoe pinches.
17.
to cause sharp discomfort or distress: Their stomachs were pinched with hunger.
18.
to economize unduly; stint oneself: They pinched and scraped for years to save money for a car.
19.
Mining. (of a vein of ore or the like)
a.
to diminish.
b.
to diminish to nothing (sometimes followed by out).
20.
Nautical. to trim a sail too flat when sailing to windward.

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Pinch pennies is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
noun
21.
the act of pinching; nip; squeeze.
22.
as much of anything as can be taken up between the finger and thumb: a pinch of salt.
23.
a very small quantity of anything: a pinch of pungent wit.
24.
sharp or painful stress, as of hunger, need, or any trying circumstances: the pinch of conscience; to feel the pinch of poverty.
25.
a situation or time of special stress, especially an emergency: A friend is someone who will stand by you in a pinch.
EXPAND
27.
Slang. a raid or an arrest.
28.
Slang. a theft.
COLLAPSE
29.
pinch pennies, to stint on or be frugal or economical with expenditures; economize: I'll have to pinch pennies if I'm going to get through school.
30.
with a pinch of salt. grain (def. 27).

Origin:
1250–1300; Middle English pinchen < Anglo-French *pinchier (equivalent to Old French pincier, Spanish pinchar) < Vulgar Latin *pīnctiāre, variant of *pūnctiāre to prick (compare pique1)

pinch·a·ble, adjective
un·pinched, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
Cite This Source Link To pinch pennies
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

pinch
c.1230, from O.N.Fr. *pinchier, var. of O.Fr. pincier, possibly from V.L. *punctiare "to pierce" (from L. punctum "point"), and *piccare "to pierce." Meaning "to steal" is from 1656. Sense of "to be stingy" is recorded from early 14c. Noun meaning "critical juncture" (as in baseball pinch hitter, attested
EXPAND
from 1912) is from 1489; older than the literal sense of "act of pinching" (1591).
COLLAPSE
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary

pinch definition


  1. n.
    a small amount of a powdered substance, such as salt, snuff, a spice, etc. (Not slang.) : He put a pinch under his lips and walked up to home plate.
  2. tv.
    to arrest someone. : The police captain pinched her for passing bad checks.
  3. n.
    the arrest of someone. : They made the pinch in front of her house.
  4. tv.
    to steal something. (See also cop.) : The kid pinched a candy bar right off the counter.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

pinch pennies

Be thrifty or miserly, as in There's no need to pinch pennies now that you're working full-time. This term was first recorded in 1942.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
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