penny-pinching

adj, noun — 2 senses

adj

Etymology From pinchpenny.

reluctant to spend money; close-fisted

If there is an overall lesson, it is that train quality should be seen as part of the battle against climate change, with penny-pinching specifications robustly opposed as a false economy.2021 July 14, Anthony Lambert, “Grand designs on superior interiors”, in SAIL, number 935, page 49:

noun

Etymology From pinchpenny.

reluctance to spend money; thrift or parsimony; extreme economy.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.