tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post114989761374055098..comments2024-03-28T16:11:36.465+00:00Comments on Separated by a Common Language: cheap and tightlynneguisthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-84054454805206287202018-10-17T17:08:59.148+01:002018-10-17T17:08:59.148+01:00I don't know that I've really heard this u...I don't know that I've really heard this use of "cheap" very often. Many people i know use it as synonymous with "inexpensive". Though my mom always saw them as separate - cheap, to her, would signify that something was not only inexpensive, but of poor quality too.<br />Thrifty, stingy, and tightwad (similar to tight) are all terms I've heard to refer to a person being "careful with their money".Hayleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02634214802522519368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-25895794924857885382014-06-20T14:51:30.830+01:002014-06-20T14:51:30.830+01:00tight can also mean nasty, like 'our teacher w...tight can also mean nasty, like 'our teacher was being tight in that lesson', I think it's more of a term synonymous with being ungenerous, tight-fisted. I have NEVER come across the phrase tight as a gnat's chuff. Nor have I heard tight being used to mean somebody's drunk. Mean is synonymous with tight in most situations, but it's less used so could be misinterpreted.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-26220412088151963062010-01-21T11:03:02.868+00:002010-01-21T11:03:02.868+00:00'Mean' means 'ungenerous', really....'Mean' means 'ungenerous', really. So it would work in some but certainly not all situations where one might use 'cheap'.lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-18360767577705081422010-01-21T09:24:49.662+00:002010-01-21T09:24:49.662+00:00My limited understanding of BrE is that "mean...My limited understanding of BrE is that "mean" should be used in a situation like this. Is this correct?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-20508611439447227012007-05-02T23:59:00.000+01:002007-05-02T23:59:00.000+01:00I don't think I have led a very sheltered life, bu...I don't think I have led a very sheltered life, but I have never come across the phrase "tight as a gnat's chuff". It can be googled, so it clearly exists, but my guess would be that it is highly localised to time and/or place. I certainly couldn't imagine using it with any expectation of comprehension.<BR/><BR/>In my dialect of BrE, I do think the primary meaning of 'tight' used in isolation would be to do with drink rather than money. If the latter were intended, I would expect to hear a phrase such as 'tight fisted' - though in conversation, context can sometimes avoid the risk of ambiguity.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-25125206430926592062007-05-02T14:23:00.000+01:002007-05-02T14:23:00.000+01:00Well, there's always "stingy."Well, there's always "stingy."Stephen C. Carlsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18239379955876245197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-34140344232121078392007-05-02T13:19:00.000+01:002007-05-02T13:19:00.000+01:00I would like to toss out a couple more AmE meaning...I would like to toss out a couple more AmE meanings for cheap and tight. "Cheap" can mean something like "unfair and uncreative", especially in sports and games, as in, "That was a really cheap move." "Tight" can be applied to something quite the opposite, a well thought-out/executed plan or design or song. "Have you seen the new BMW. It looks tight!"Hodgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02288259527410351909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-923507528486625522007-05-02T12:44:00.000+01:002007-05-02T12:44:00.000+01:00Where I grew up in California, we would say a teac...Where I grew up in California, we would say a teacher was tight if she was strict. When my family moved to New Jersey, I learned that to the kids there it had the unappealing connotations you allude to. I had to stop using that one.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-34537473605612831782006-11-16T11:59:00.000+00:002006-11-16T11:59:00.000+00:00or, on the Isle of Wight when I was growing up, sa...or, on the Isle of Wight when I was growing up, saying sbdy was tight meant that they were frigid.Lisa Whttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12989829233018013615noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-1150239006444019632006-06-13T23:50:00.000+01:002006-06-13T23:50:00.000+01:00That works in the UK too--though certainly wouldn'...That works in the UK too--though certainly wouldn't be the first interpretation. In fact, I think of it as something my parents' generation would say...lynneguisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10171345732985610861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28787909.post-1150236494701403772006-06-13T23:08:00.000+01:002006-06-13T23:08:00.000+01:00Yes, but if she's "tight" it could also mean she's...Yes, but if she's "tight" it could also mean she's slightly sloshed, almost smashed, or just plain drunk.Alexandrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06111152384329828232noreply@blogger.com