Every day in their life, people need to make decisions to manage economic situations related to their personal or family budget.
However, you probably know some people who find it very difficult to spend their money. For these cases, we have the expression “To be Closefisted.”
“To be Closefisted” refers to a person who doesn’t like spending their money even if necessary. It is a negative phrase. People use it to talk about someone who is too attached to their money and in people who do not show generosity towards others.
This idiom is a negative statement to describe people who are stingy in excess.
The closefisted behavior has nothing to do with the economic state of a person. But, it can be someone very prosperous that behaves miserably, either to himself or to others.
Due to this explanation, we already know that if someone calls us “Closefisted.” It is not exactly a compliment, but it is a negative adjective, and people misunderstand it.
Why Are Some People Closefisted?
According to a social study conducted by Carnegie Mellon University, some people find it painful to spend money even on their most basic needs.
For this reason, closefisted people seek to avoid contact with others. They do not take part in social events that need their economic collaboration.
This behavior is even worse in those who have no economic limitations and can use their money to live a better life. But they prefer to save it in bank accounts.
The Answer Might Be Their Childhood
Dr. Julio Posada, a psychiatrist and specialist in mental illness at El Bosque University, has studied stingy people. He concluded that stinginess is a mental disease. It forces people who suffer from it to keep or accumulate something in an unhealthy way.
One of the most accepted explanations for the origin of this mental disease is related to childhood. It is a fact that stingy people received very little affection from their parents in their youth. These childhood issues prompted them to seek security by accumulating things or objects that they could obtain by their means.
Generally, a closefisted person is a problem for all the people they are close with. Whether friends, partners, or family.
Understanding How Closefisted People Act
These people are obsessed with saving all the time. Everything seems expensive and unnecessary to them. So they are always reluctant to spend or invest their money.
It is always funny to observe a “closefisted” person when something happens, and they must collaborate with their money. They will make up absurd excuses to get out of the situation without spending money while becoming the joke of the meeting or being the target of the group’s pranks.
In these cases, the stingy person will always have excuses. They say things like:
“I left my wallet at home.”
“I didn’t tell you that the bank blocked my accounts by accident.”
“I don’t go out with money in my pockets for security reasons.”
How To Recognize A Person Who Is “Closefisted”
Do you have someone close to you or someone you know who could be closefisted? Does he/she have some strange behavior that makes you doubt his/her generosity? Or maybe you have overreacted to money matters?
If you still have difficulties with how to identify a closefisted person. Here are some essential tips for recognizing them.
- The person loves to attend events where they can eat for free. If this is not the case, they will not go and will make any excuse.
- They prefer to walk long distances rather than pay for transportation.
- They will never take the initiative to pay the bill at a restaurant.
- This person will ask to borrow money but will never pay it back.
- All their conversations are about the month’s expenses and how expensive things are.
- This person only goes out to the movies, the theater, or bars when there are special offers or discounts.
- If this person goes to a restaurant, they focus on the price of the food.
- This person won’t call you by phone. They will dial the number and quickly hang up, so the other person calls back.
The Origin Of The Phrase “To Be Closefisted”
There are several versions of its possible origin, “To be Closefisted.” Still, there are not many details of the source of the idiom. The information we find is not reliable. However, some of them will be listed below.
People say that it first came to the image of the hand around the year 1800, and approximately 100 years later, it became a clenched fist.
Some authors speculate the phrase was first used between the decade from 1565 to 1575. In this period, people added more words to the English language. Broadside, conglomerate, curve, excursion, and idiom are some examples.
Other versions state that it is an ancient word dating back to 1608. Since that time, it has become a timeless and universal gesture to say people who are “closefisted.”
It also alludes to its origin in the first decade of the year 1900. Where it was initially known as the phrase “tight the money.” Later, then evolved over the years to “to be Closefisted.”
Small Grammatical Bites Of “To Be Closefisted”
Some of the grammatically correct uses of this idiom are as follows:
- “Closefisted” is used as an adjective to describe people. You can split the word in two with a hyphen in the middle. “closefisted.”
- A person who is “closefisted” can also be called “closefisted.”
The main synonyms of this idiom are:
- Cheap
- Chintzy
- Close
- Mean
- Mingy
- Miserly
- Niggard
- Niggardly
- Parsimonious
- Penny-pinching
- Penurious
- Pinching
- Pinchpenny
- Spare
- Sparing
- Sparing
- Stingy
- Stinting
- Tight
- Tightfisted
- Uncharitable
- Ungenerous
The main antonyms of this idiom are:
- Bounteous
- Bountiful
- Charitable
- Freehanded
- Generous
- Liberal
- Munificent
- Openhanded
- Unsparing
- Unstinting
How People Use The Idiom “To Be Closefisted”
The idiom “To be Closefisted” is very easy to understand; it is perfect for pointing out how greedy and selfish someone can be.
It is a word that conveys the idea of a person who holds on to what they have instead of sharing it with someone else.
It is a word that encloses in the same word the characteristic of being stingy and selfish at the same time.
It refers to a person who does not share, although sometimes it can also mean a challenging or aggressive person.
Below are some of the uses or meanings given to this idiom when we express:
- Austerity in the realization of projects that require investment.
- The stingy condition of an acquaintance.
- Someone is attached to a thing or situation.
- Disbelief at the possibility that someone who is stingy might make a contribution or donation.
- The affectionate closeness between people.
- Someone is cheap when it comes to expressing their feelings.
- You don’t expect much from frugal people’s tips.
- Someone handles a situation in a secretive or confidential manner.
- Taking a case with severity and discipline.
- That a stingy person can change their way of being.
- Pity towards miserly or mean people.
- Severe administration of some resource or treasure.
Other meanings include:
- To establish contrasts between generous people and stingy people.
- To describe the darkness of some people’s feelings.
Examples Of The Use Of The Phrase “To Be Closefisted” In Everyday Sentences
This idiom is relatively straightforward to use since, unlike other idiomatic expressions used to describe a broad idea.
People use this idiom to replace one word with another, simplifying and facilitating its proper use in everyday life.
Here are some concrete examples in sentences that you might well use when you finish reading this article.
- This year management has been highly closefisted with the end-of-performance bonus.
- It was worthless for him to be closefisted because he ended his life in poverty and absolute loneliness.
- This government has been very closefisted, you can notice it in the deterioration of all the infrastructure of the cities.
More English Idioms
A Final Reflection On “To Be Closefisted”
Notice behaviors of exaggerated savings among some of your acquaintances. You may be in front of a closefisted person.
The good thing is that you will already be fully prepared to recognize them just by being aware of a few details. And people who have this condition cannot hide the signs that give them away.
When it comes to money, we all face significant challenges daily. Some of them are basic expenses like household expenses, purchases of goods or services, basic supplies, bills to pay of all kinds. Other expenses are vacation trips, home repairs, vehicles, college tuition, and other studies, and you stop counting.
Almost everything in life today involves making economic decisions that in some way cause an impact on each of the people involved.
This idiom is easiest to understand and use since its word choice is easy to explain and direct.
We accomplished our mission. We have added and enriched your vocabulary with another popular expression.
The expression being closefisted has already become a classic in popular vocabulary. Now, it’s time for you to use it in your daily conversations.
Shawn Manaher is the founder and CEO of The Content Authority. He’s one part content manager, one part writing ninja organizer, and two parts leader of top content creators. You don’t even want to know what he calls pancakes.