Our list of words for stingy people just grew longer, thanks to a contribution from Rick in San Antonio, Texas: When he lived in Brazil, he learned the expression mão-de-vaca, literally “hand of a cow” and pão-duro, literally “hard bread.” The former reflects the idea that someone who has a cow’s hand is literally “tight-fisted,” and the latter may suggest someone so miserly they hoard their bread, taking tiny nibbles at it for so long that it gets rock-hard. This is part of a complete episode.
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