Chrysti The Wordsmith: Skinflint - 2

Greetings verb of yours last time on Kristi the wordsmith we entertain the word skinflint a nickname in use since the seventeen hundreds to describe the stingy and monetary only cautious the original skinflints were rifleman who used flint stones to spark and ignite their weapons when the flint wore out. The cheapest of rifleman sharpened or skinned their flints instead of purchasing replacement stones often ruining their knives in the process. These were the penny pinching misers who gave us the moniker skin flint. The English language has a generous vocabulary describing stingy people Skinflint is one and another is cheapskate. Though all English speakers can use this term with confidence cheapskate resists any off the cuff etymologies cheap is obvious but where does the skate fit in. In English skate is a hominem meaning it has multiple unrelated definitions. It can be a shoe with a blade or wheels attached or a marine creature similar to a manta ray in American English slang

skate is a verb meaning to leave in a hurry or to pass by rapidly. Yet we see none of these senses in cheap skate. What we do find is the British slang word skate rarely used on this side of the Atlantic which means chap or fellow. An apparent alteration of the Scottish term skite s k y t e meaning a contemptible person etymologically than a cheapskate is a contemptibly cheap fellow. I'm Christi the wordsmith. CHRISTIE The wordsmith is sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Zoot enterprises. A high tech firm in Bozeman Montana offering challenging careers and innovative solutions for the financial services industry sued web dotcom.