penny pincher

Example: “My grandfather is such a penny pincher that he reuses tea bags.”

Origin: "Pinchpenny," the older ancestor of the modern phrase, is documented from as early as 1425, built from "pinch" — via Old French pincier, to squeeze tightly between finger and thumb — applied directly to the smallest unit of everyday currency. Unlike "miser," which always carries a harsh, disapproving tone, "penny pincher" can be used either critically or with a kind of neutral, even admiring acknowledgment of someone's careful frugality. The specific compound "penny pincher" is documented from the 1920s, while the related verb phrase "pinch pennies" arose slightly earlier, likely in the late 1800s, and became especially widespread during the economic hardship of the Great Depression, when carefully guarding every penny was a practical necessity for enormous numbers of people rather than simply a personality trait.