skimp

English

WOTD – 26 October 2009

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /skɪmp/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪmp

Etymology 1

Perhaps of North Germanic origin, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *skimpijaną (“to skip, dance, gesture, mock”). Cognate with Icelandic skimpa (“to scoff at, scorn”), dialectal Swedish skimpa (“to skip, dance”), Faroese skumpa (“to shove, bump”), German schimpfen (“to grumble, scold”), Dutch schimpen (“to mock, make fun of, scold”).

Verb

skimp (third-person singular simple present skimps, present participle skimping, simple past and past participle skimped)

1. (Scotland, Northern England) To mock, deride, scorn, scold, make fun of.

   I thought Adie was only skimpin' me.

References

• The Dictionary of the Scots Language

Etymology 2

Probably related to scamp and scrimp.

Verb

skimp (third-person singular simple present skimps, present participle skimping, simple past and past participle skimped)

1. (transitive) To slight; to do carelessly; to scamp.
   • 1955, Rex Stout, "Die Like a Dog", in Three Witnesses, October 1994 Bantam edition, →ISBN, page 159:

     I got out my wallet and let him have a look at my licenses, detective and driver's. He didn't skimp it, being a lawyer.

2. To make insufficient allowance for; to scant; to scrimp.
   • 1964 January, “The maintenance of B.R. diesel-electric locomotives”, in Modern Railways, page 54:

     The temptation to skimp examinations and maintenance procedures, to save time or overcome staff shortages, must be resisted, and supervisors must insist on strict adherence to maintenance schedules and quality of workmanship.

   • 2024 April 27, James Poniewozik, “The Comfortable Problem of Mid TV”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     Apple’s investment bought something. Its shows feel professional. They look like premium products that no one skimped on.

3. (intransitive) To save; to be parsimonious or stingy.

Derived terms

• skimp and save

Related terms

• skimpflation
• skimpily
• skimpy

Translations

to slight; to do carelessly; to scamp

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: odbýt (cs), odfláknout (cs), šidit (cs) impf, ošidit pf, odbývat impf
• Finnish: pinnata (fi)
• German: nachlässig erledigen, (colloquial) schludern (de)
• Italian: sottovalutare (it)
• Russian: халту́рить (ru) (xaltúritʹ)
• Turkish: baştan savma yapmak, savsaklamak (tr)

to make insufficient allowance for; to scant; to scrimp

• Bulgarian: скъпя се (skǎpja se)
• Czech: šetřit (cs), omezovat (cs)
• Finnish: pihistellä (fi), pihdata (fi), pihtailla, nuukailla
• French: lésiner (fr)
• German: knausern (de)
• Italian: lesinare (it)
• Maori: matatoua
• Norwegian: spinke, knipe (no)
• Russian: скупиться (ru) (skupitʹsja)
• Turkish: az vermek, cimrilik etmek (tr), kısmak (tr)

to save; to be parsimonious or stingy

• Bulgarian: икономисвам (bg) (ikonomisvam)
• Czech: šetřit (cs), škudlit
• Dutch: beknibbelen (nl)
• Finnish: pihistellä (fi), pihdata (fi), pihtailla, nuukailla
• German: knapp halten, (colloquial) knausern (de)
• Italian: lesinare (it)
• Maori: matatoua
• Norwegian: spinke
• Russian: скупиться (ru) (skupitʹsja), экономить (ru) (ekonomitʹ)
• Spanish: escatimar (es), racanear (es)
• Swedish: snåla (sv)
• Turkish: cimrilik etmek (tr)

Adjective

skimp (comparative more skimp, superlative most skimp)

1. (dated, UK, dialect or US, colloquial) Scanty.

Noun

skimp (plural skimps)

1. A skimpy or insubstantial thing, especially a piece of clothing.
   • 2007, George Ella Lyon, With a Hammer for my Heart, page 192:

     I remembered how fierce it hurt and how it blistered. All that pain from just a skimp of flesh.

2. (in the plural, colloquial) Underwear.
   • 2007, Zoo Today‎^[2]:

     While presenting a rundown of the sexiest soap stars in the world in this week's ZOO, Hollyoaks' Gemma Atkinson very kindly stripped down to her skimps herself.

Further reading

• Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.