Definition of tight-arse in English:

noun

• 1A person who spends as little money as possible; a miser.

  ‘he's a notorious tight-arse and is always very hesitant about coughing up for anything’

  ‘when it comes to money, I’m a tight-ass who is at pains to avoid looking like one’

  More example sentences

  • ‘Jake, being the tight-arse he is, wanted to move house on the cheap.’
  • ‘I probably sound like a real tight-ass now, but in my defence, it was really bad service, and it's the first time I've ever told anyone not to tip.’
  • ‘We wouldn't be able to get any free cider from him anyway. Why? Because he's a tight-arse.’
  • ‘This is a place that I guess you could best describe as somewhere you'd stay if you're a tight-arse but not if you want somewhere, well, nice.’
  • ‘As nice as it is for someone to pay my way, I feel like a complete tight-ass.’
  • ‘The survey found that 11% of people were "tight-arses" who spent an average £10 a year on gifts.’
  • ‘The management of the company were complete tight-arses.’
  • ‘My friend went on a first date with this tight-arse bloke and he insisted on her buying all the drinks.’
  • ‘We all know about your obsession with expenses and particularly how to avoid them, you tight-ass.’
  • ‘Resenting not having any money is a waste of energy and will turn you into a tight-arse.’

  Synonyms

  miser, penny-pincher, scrooge, pinchpenny, niggard, cheese-parer

  View synonyms

• 2An inhibited, repressed, or excessively conventional person.

  ‘you are the most buttoned-up tight-arse that I have ever met’

  ‘a well-worn Hollywood theme—repressed tight-ass reformed by intrusion of uncouth slob’

  More example sentences

  • ‘The comic-drama of this man who is teased for being a tight-ass, ‘a self-righteous goody two-shoes,’ feels like the enactment of an old, old moment in the history of mutual human dumbness.’
  • ‘You need to get a sense of humour and stop being a tight-arse!’
  • ‘His grin changed into a pleasant smile as he realized Julian wasn't such a tight-ass.’
  • ‘I realize that calling people out for not using the serial comma is probably an easier way of communicating clearly that you're a boring, stuffy tight-ass with a surfeit of free time.’
  • ‘Some people are total tight-asses with no sense of humor whatsoever.’
  • ‘Even her secretary was an unflappable tight-ass, his contacts had told him.’