skinflint (n.)"miser, one who makes use of contemptible economy to keep money," 1700, slang; literally "kind of person who would skin a flint to save or gain something," from skin (v.) + flint. Flay-f

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Dinghui

skinflint (n.)"miser, one who makes use of contemptible economy to keep money," 1700, slang; literally "kind of person who would skin a flint to save or gain something," from skin (v.) + flint. Flay-flint in same sense is from 1670s. Among the 18c. slang terms for a miserly person was nipcheese (1785, originally "a ship's purser"). What is “skin a flint”?

May 18, 2021 3:03 PM

Answers · 12

Skin means remove the skin from something. You skin a rabbit before cooking it. So skin a flint I think means to use every part of the flint.

May 18, 2021

It's just an exaggeration. Flints don't have skin. But this person is so mean they'd skin a flint in order to get the last possible use out of it. It's hyperbole - exaggeration for literary or comic effect.

May 18, 2021