stingyadj.

/ˈstɪndʒi/

Forms: Also 1600s stingie.

Etymology: Perhaps < sting n.² or sting v.¹ + -y suffix¹. On the assumption that the noun represents Old English styng < *stungi- , the pronunciation /ˈstɪndʒɪ/ is explicable. It is possible that some of the examples under sense 1 represent a distinct word, pronounced /ˈstɪŋɪ/, which is still occasionally heard in colloquial use. For the current sense 4, compare the dialect skingy of the same meaning ( Eng. Dial. Dict.).

a. Having a sting; stinging, sharp, virulent. Chiefly figurative of controversy, or the like. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > hatred > [adjective] > full of virulent hatred

inveterate1528

stingyc1615

the world > health and disease > ill health > pain > types of pain > [adjective] > smarting or stinging

smartingOE

biting1340

stingingc1400

mordicant?a1425

pungitive?a1425

raw1590

pungent1598

stanging1602

stingyc1615

scorpiaca1670

verberous1688

shrewd1842

snapping1845

stounding1848

mordant1876

smartful1906

c1615 S. D'Ewes Jrnl. Parl. (1783) 13 This discontent gave many satirical wits occasion to vent themselves into stingie libels, in which they spared neither [etc.].

1654 A. Tuckney Θανατοκτασία 41 But in particular would we not have our death too stingy, and its sting deadly.

1669 R. Baddeley Life Dr. T. Morton 23 Those virulent and stingie Pamphlets.

1681 News from Doctor's Commons 1 It is..vulgarly known, that the Waspish Swarms in Doctors Commons, have been as stinging as stingy against Mr. Hickeringil.

1682 E. Hickeringill Hist. Whiggism i. 17 I know your meaning, Whigg, and your stingy Reflection and Innuendo.

1705 E. Hickeringill Priest-craft 17 The Sting of a Scorpion is not more fatal, more incurable, and more venemous than a stingy and enraged Priest, especially..when you meddle with the Craft by which he gets his Wealth.

1917 N.E.D. at Stingy Mod. colloq. Those are very stingy (stɪŋɪ) nettles.

b. Of weather, etc.: Sharp, biting, cold. dialect.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > cold weather > [adjective] > sharp or bitter

fellc1330

snithinga1350

sharpc1435

hoar?a1500

sneaping1598

shrewd1603

bittera1616

snithe1671

cutting1798

stingy1823

1823 E. Moor Suffolk Words (at cited word) Sharp, unsettled weather, inclining to rain, would also be called stingy.

1893 in H. T. Cozens-Hardy Broad Norfolk (Eastern Daily Press) 14 ‘It dew fare wonerful stingy’, says the rustic, when the wind is in the east.

2. Bad-tempered, irritable, peevish, cross. dialect.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > anger > irascibility > irritability > irritable [adjective]

sharpc1000

impatient1377

out-sharpinga1382

teethya1500

fumish1523

testy1526

crabbed1535

tettish1567

peevish1577

kickish1589

splenetic1593

spleenful1594

tetchy1596

wasp-stung1598

touchy1602

spleeny1604

pruriginous1609

teety1621

splenitive1633

peltish1648

irritable1662

splenatic1663

splenetive1678

unheer1691

rusty1694

nettlesome1766

stingy1781

snarly1798

tutty1809

spleenical1818

rileya1824

nettly1825

edgy1837

porcupinal1846

shirty1846

raspish1854

peckish1857

streaky1860

owly1864

teasy1866

fussy1869

raspy1869

spiky1881

chippyc1885

tetchous1890

narky1895

snarky1906

ringy1907

snarkish1912

Scot1916

crooked1945

niggly1952

snooty1959

kvetchy1965

to be on the rag1967

sandpaper1976

gribble1984

splenous-

1781 J. Woodforde Diary 22 Feb. (1924) I. 302 I was very stingy this morning alias in a bad humour and made Nancy uneasy by my talking.

1787 J. Beattie Scoticisms 81 Stingy, in many parts of Scotland, conveys the notion of peevish, or captious.

a1791 F. Grose Olio (1796) 113 So, then stingy means peevish or touchy!

a1800 S. Pegge Suppl. Grose's Provinc. Gloss. (1814) Stingy, cross, untoward. Norf.

c1800 Earl of Boyn xvii, in F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads (1892) IV. viii. 316 She turned her about wie a very stingy look.

1808 Spec. Yorksh. Dial. 30 My mam grows se stingy, she scauds, an' she fleeghts.

1823 E. Moor Suffolk Words 397 Stingy, snappish—waspish—unruly—ill-tempered—quarrelsome.

1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) Stingy, crabbed, ill-humoured.

†3. ? Narrow-minded, illiberal. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > expressed belief, opinion > bias, prejudice > narrow-mindedness > [adjective]

narrowed1599

narrow-minded1611

narrow1612

small1619

narrow1622

tub-brained1634

narrow-souled1641

narrow-spirited1645

narrow-compassed1647

illiberal1649

cat-witted1672

stingy1694

little-minded1707

straitened1712

unenlarged1741

contracted1765

one-eyed1779

unliberalized1793

nippit1808

small-minded1811

narrow-brained1835

narrow visioned1853

thin-minded1862

narrow-gauge1872

one-track1900

narrow-gutted1903

tunnel-visioned1968

1694 W. Penn Brief Acct. Rise Quakers ii. 53 These things..rendered this People Stingy and Conceited in such Persons Opinions.

1701 J. Howe Some Consideration Pref. Enq. 32 'Tis not to be let pass, that you, or your Author, industriously represent the Primitive English Puritans..as if they were generally of your stingy, narrow Spirit.

a. Of persons, actions, etc.: Niggardly, penurious, mean, close-fisted.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > retaining > niggardliness or meanness > [adjective]

gnedec900

gripplea1000

fastOE

narrow-hearteda1200

narrow?c1225

straitc1290

chinchc1300

nithinga1325

scarcec1330

clama1340

hard1340

scantc1366

sparingc1386

niggardc1400

chinchy?1406

retentivea1450

niggardousa1492

niggish1519

unliberal1533

pinching1548

dry1552

nigh1555

niggardly1560

churlish1566

squeamish1566

niggardish1567

niggard-like1567

holding1569

spare1577

handfast1578

envious1580

close-handed1585

hard-handed1587

curmudgeonly1590

parsimonious?1591

costive1594

hidebound1598

penny-pinching1600

penurious1600

strait-handed1600

club-fisted1601

dry-fisted1604

fast-handed1605

fast-fingered1607

close-fisted1608

near1611

scanting1613

carkingc1620

illiberal1623

clutch-fisteda1634

hideboundeda1640

clutch-fista1643

clunch-fisted1644

unbounteous1645

hard-fisted1646

purse-bound1652

close1654

stingy1659

tenacious1676

scanty1692

sneaking1696

gripe-handed1698

narrow-souled1699

niggardling1704

snippy1727

unindulgent1742

shabby1766

neargoinga1774

cheesemongering1781

split-farthing1787

save-all1788

picked1790

iron-fisted1794

unhandsome1800

scaly1803

nearbegoing1805

tight1805

nippit1808

nipcheese1819

cumin-splitting1822

partan-handed1823

scrimping1823

scrumptious1823

scrimpy1825

meanly1827

skinny1833

pinchfisted1837

mean1840

tight-fisted1843

screwy1844

stinty1849

cheeseparing1857

skinflinty1886

mouly1904

mingy1911

cheapskate1912

picey1937

tight-assed1961

chintzy1964

tightwad1976

1659 T. Pecke Parnassi Puerperium 21 Courtiers I ask ye nothing: for ye are Stingy in giving.

1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 162 He lavishes into Excesses not approved of by that stingy Tribe.

1707 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. 27 Jan. (O.H.S.) I. 323 He was a stingy, niggardly Fellow.

a1770 J. Jortin Serm. (1772) VII. xi. 213 Liberal in promises, and stingy in performances.

1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton Alice I. iv. vi. 13 Without being stingy, the Admiral had a good deal of economy in his disposition.

1866 ‘G. Eliot’ Felix Holt I. Introd. 12 He perhaps remembered the fathers of actual baronets, and knew stories of their extravagant or stingy housekeeping.

b. const. of.

ΚΠ

1723 Portland Papers (Hist. MSS. Comm.) VI. 76 So very stingy and saving of their ground are these yeomen of Kent.

1771 N. Nicholls Corr. with Gray (1843) 121 If you knew the pleasure your letters give me, I think you would not be quite so stingy of them.

1885 M. Collins Prettiest Woman in Warsaw I. v. 84 Who is she, to be so stingy of her smiles.

1893 J. A. Symonds Life Michelangelo I. ii. §8. 83 He was never stingy of cash.

c. Betokening meanness; doled out sparingly or grudgingly.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > retaining > niggardliness or meanness > [adjective] > marked by or betokening meanness

to the boneOE

niggardly1561

niggard1673

stingy1849

1849 D. G. Mitchell Battle Summer (1852) 250 Workmen too proud to buy such stingy dinner, snuff the fumes wishfully.

1866 A. Trollope Belton Estate II. vi. 142 With stingy breakfasts and bad dinners for herself.

1878 T. L. Cuyler Pointed Papers 103 Christ is put off with a stingy hour or two on the Sunday.

d. Meagre, spare, circumscribed.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or restricted in application > quality of being restricted or limited > [adjective]

narroweOE

restraint1445

modifiedc1485

limitate1541

restricteda1550

strait-laced1549

scant1556

circumcised1561

contract1561

restrained1578

determinate1586

limited1590

restrict1597

strict1597

confined1605

determineda1616

limitary1620

prescript1645

modificated1646

circumscribed1647

conscribed1654

limitated1654

reserved1654

coarctated1655

straiteneda1665

unabsolute1694

stinted1710

bounded1711

contracted1711

cramped1741

special1815

municipal1856

fine-cut1894

stingy1927

society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restriction or limitation > [adjective] > restricted or limited

narroweOE

restraint1445

modifiedc1485

limitate1541

restricteda1550

scant1556

contract1561

limited1590

confined1605

limitary1620

prescript1645

modificated1646

circumscribed1647

limitated1654

reserved1654

coarctated1655

unabsolute1694

bounded1711

contracted1711

cramped1741

crimped1828

stingy1927

1927 E. M. Forster Aspects of Novel viii. 205 [James's] characters..are constructed on very stingy lines. They are incapable of fun, of rapid motion, of carnality.

5. Scanty, poor in quantity or amount.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > insufficiency > [adjective] > limited in quantity or amount

narrowOE

poor?c1225

scarce1297

straitc1386

feeblea1513

scant1556

niggardly1564

slender1564

limited1590

scanted1594

sparing1602

scantled1604

stinted1629

exiguous1630

unlavished1635

scanty1658

unprofuse1727

costivea1734

incopious1734

niggard1751

jimp1768

skimped1839

stingy1854

restricted1856

niggard-measured1881

1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northamptonshire Words II. 297 Stingy, thin, weak; applied to the hair of an animal.

1863 H. W. Longfellow Poet's Tale xvii, in Tales Wayside Inn 197 When your teams Drag home the stingy harvest.

6. Of the brim of a hat: narrow. Also as n., a narrow-brimmed hat. U.S. (Black English).

ΘΚΠ

the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > parts of headgear > [adjective]

Kevenhuller1746

Nazarene1788

beautya1889

stingy1965

the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > [noun] > hat > with a brim > narrow-brimmed

stingy1965

1965 Liberator Aug. 23/2 He was neat from toe to stingy.

1969 N. Cohn Pop from Beginning ix. 85 He wore Stingy Brim straw hats, tight pants, lurid shirts.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1917; most recently modified version published online December 2020).

单词	stingy
释义	stingyadj. /ˈstɪndʒi/ Forms: Also 1600s stingie. Etymology: Perhaps < sting n.² or sting v.¹ + -y suffix¹. On the assumption that the noun represents Old English styng < stungi- , the pronunciation /ˈstɪndʒɪ/ is explicable. It is possible that some of the examples under sense 1 represent a distinct word, pronounced /ˈstɪŋɪ/, which is still occasionally heard in colloquial use. For the current sense 4, compare the dialect skingy* of the same meaning ( Eng. Dial. Dict.). 1. a. Having a sting; stinging, sharp, virulent. Chiefly figurative of controversy, or the like. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > hatred > [adjective] > full of virulent hatred inveterate1528 stingyc1615 the world > health and disease > ill health > pain > types of pain > [adjective] > smarting or stinging smartingOE biting1340 stingingc1400 mordicant?a1425 pungitive?a1425 raw1590 pungent1598 stanging1602 stingyc1615 scorpiaca1670 verberous1688 shrewd1842 snapping1845 stounding1848 mordant1876 smartful1906 c1615 S. D'Ewes Jrnl. Parl. (1783) 13 This discontent gave many satirical wits occasion to vent themselves into stingie libels, in which they spared neither [etc.]. 1654 A. Tuckney Θανατοκτασία 41 But in particular would we not have our death too stingy, and its sting deadly. 1669 R. Baddeley Life Dr. T. Morton 23 Those virulent and stingie Pamphlets. 1681 News from Doctor's Commons 1 It is..vulgarly known, that the Waspish Swarms in Doctors Commons, have been as stinging as stingy against Mr. Hickeringil. 1682 E. Hickeringill Hist. Whiggism i. 17 I know your meaning, Whigg, and your stingy Reflection and Innuendo. 1705 E. Hickeringill Priest-craft 17 The Sting of a Scorpion is not more fatal, more incurable, and more venemous than a stingy and enraged Priest, especially..when you meddle with the Craft by which he gets his Wealth. 1917 N.E.D. at Stingy Mod. colloq. Those are very stingy (stɪŋɪ) nettles. b. Of weather, etc.: Sharp, biting, cold. dialect. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > cold weather > [adjective] > sharp or bitter fellc1330 snithinga1350 sharpc1435 hoar?a1500 sneaping1598 shrewd1603 bittera1616 snithe1671 cutting1798 stingy1823 1823 E. Moor Suffolk Words (at cited word) Sharp, unsettled weather, inclining to rain, would also be called stingy. 1893 in H. T. Cozens-Hardy Broad Norfolk (Eastern Daily Press) 14 ‘It dew fare wonerful stingy’, says the rustic, when the wind is in the east. 2. Bad-tempered, irritable, peevish, cross. dialect. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > anger > irascibility > irritability > irritable [adjective] sharpc1000 impatient1377 out-sharpinga1382 teethya1500 fumish1523 testy1526 crabbed1535 tettish1567 peevish1577 kickish1589 splenetic1593 spleenful1594 tetchy1596 wasp-stung1598 touchy1602 spleeny1604 pruriginous1609 teety1621 splenitive1633 peltish1648 irritable1662 splenatic1663 splenetive1678 unheer1691 rusty1694 nettlesome1766 stingy1781 snarly1798 tutty1809 spleenical1818 rileya1824 nettly1825 edgy1837 porcupinal1846 shirty1846 raspish1854 peckish1857 streaky1860 owly1864 teasy1866 fussy1869 raspy1869 spiky1881 chippyc1885 tetchous1890 narky1895 snarky1906 ringy1907 snarkish1912 Scot1916 crooked1945 niggly1952 snooty1959 kvetchy1965 to be on the rag1967 sandpaper1976 gribble1984 splenous- 1781 J. Woodforde Diary 22 Feb. (1924) I. 302 I was very stingy this morning alias in a bad humour and made Nancy uneasy by my talking. 1787 J. Beattie Scoticisms 81 Stingy, in many parts of Scotland, conveys the notion of peevish, or captious. a1791 F. Grose Olio (1796) 113 So, then stingy means peevish or touchy! a1800 S. Pegge Suppl. Grose's Provinc. Gloss. (1814) Stingy, cross, untoward. Norf. c1800 Earl of Boyn xvii, in F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads (1892) IV. viii. 316 She turned her about wie a very stingy look. 1808 Spec. Yorksh. Dial. 30 My mam grows se stingy, she scauds, an' she fleeghts. 1823 E. Moor Suffolk Words 397 Stingy, snappish—waspish—unruly—ill-tempered—quarrelsome. 1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) Stingy, crabbed, ill-humoured. †3. ? Narrow-minded, illiberal. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > expressed belief, opinion > bias, prejudice > narrow-mindedness > [adjective] narrowed1599 narrow-minded1611 narrow1612 small1619 narrow1622 tub-brained1634 narrow-souled1641 narrow-spirited1645 narrow-compassed1647 illiberal1649 cat-witted1672 stingy1694 little-minded1707 straitened1712 unenlarged1741 contracted1765 one-eyed1779 unliberalized1793 nippit1808 small-minded1811 narrow-brained1835 narrow visioned1853 thin-minded1862 narrow-gauge1872 one-track1900 narrow-gutted1903 tunnel-visioned1968 1694 W. Penn Brief Acct. Rise Quakers ii. 53 These things..rendered this People Stingy and Conceited in such Persons Opinions. 1701 J. Howe Some Consideration Pref. Enq. 32 'Tis not to be let pass, that you, or your Author, industriously represent the Primitive English Puritans..as if they were generally of your stingy, narrow Spirit. 4. a. Of persons, actions, etc.: Niggardly, penurious, mean, close-fisted. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > retaining > niggardliness or meanness > [adjective] gnedec900 gripplea1000 fastOE narrow-hearteda1200 narrow?c1225 straitc1290 chinchc1300 nithinga1325 scarcec1330 clama1340 hard1340 scantc1366 sparingc1386 niggardc1400 chinchy?1406 retentivea1450 niggardousa1492 niggish1519 unliberal1533 pinching1548 dry1552 nigh1555 niggardly1560 churlish1566 squeamish1566 niggardish1567 niggard-like1567 holding1569 spare1577 handfast1578 envious1580 close-handed1585 hard-handed1587 curmudgeonly1590 parsimonious?1591 costive1594 hidebound1598 penny-pinching1600 penurious1600 strait-handed1600 club-fisted1601 dry-fisted1604 fast-handed1605 fast-fingered1607 close-fisted1608 near1611 scanting1613 carkingc1620 illiberal1623 clutch-fisteda1634 hideboundeda1640 clutch-fista1643 clunch-fisted1644 unbounteous1645 hard-fisted1646 purse-bound1652 close1654 stingy1659 tenacious1676 scanty1692 sneaking1696 gripe-handed1698 narrow-souled1699 niggardling1704 snippy1727 unindulgent1742 shabby1766 neargoinga1774 cheesemongering1781 split-farthing1787 save-all1788 picked1790 iron-fisted1794 unhandsome1800 scaly1803 nearbegoing1805 tight1805 nippit1808 nipcheese1819 cumin-splitting1822 partan-handed1823 scrimping1823 scrumptious1823 scrimpy1825 meanly1827 skinny1833 pinchfisted1837 mean1840 tight-fisted1843 screwy1844 stinty1849 cheeseparing1857 skinflinty1886 mouly1904 mingy1911 cheapskate1912 picey1937 tight-assed1961 chintzy1964 tightwad1976 1659 T. Pecke Parnassi Puerperium 21 Courtiers I ask ye nothing: for ye are Stingy in giving. 1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 162 He lavishes into Excesses not approved of by that stingy Tribe. 1707 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. 27 Jan. (O.H.S.) I. 323 He was a stingy, niggardly Fellow. a1770 J. Jortin Serm. (1772) VII. xi. 213 Liberal in promises, and stingy in performances. 1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton Alice I. iv. vi. 13 Without being stingy, the Admiral had a good deal of economy in his disposition. 1866 ‘G. Eliot’ Felix Holt I. Introd. 12 He perhaps remembered the fathers of actual baronets, and knew stories of their extravagant or stingy housekeeping. b. const. of. ΚΠ 1723 Portland Papers (Hist. MSS. Comm.) VI. 76 So very stingy and saving of their ground are these yeomen of Kent. 1771 N. Nicholls Corr. with Gray (1843) 121 If you knew the pleasure your letters give me, I think you would not be quite so stingy of them. 1885 M. Collins Prettiest Woman in Warsaw I. v. 84 Who is she, to be so stingy of her smiles. 1893 J. A. Symonds Life Michelangelo I. ii. §8. 83 He was never stingy of cash. c. Betokening meanness; doled out sparingly or grudgingly. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > retaining > niggardliness or meanness > [adjective] > marked by or betokening meanness to the boneOE niggardly1561 niggard1673 stingy1849 1849 D. G. Mitchell Battle Summer (1852) 250 Workmen too proud to buy such stingy dinner, snuff the fumes wishfully. 1866 A. Trollope Belton Estate II. vi. 142 With stingy breakfasts and bad dinners for herself. 1878 T. L. Cuyler Pointed Papers 103 Christ is put off with a stingy hour or two on the Sunday. d. Meagre, spare, circumscribed. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being special or restricted in application > quality of being restricted or limited > [adjective] narroweOE restraint1445 modifiedc1485 limitate1541 restricteda1550 strait-laced1549 scant1556 circumcised1561 contract1561 restrained1578 determinate1586 limited1590 restrict1597 strict1597 confined1605 determineda1616 limitary1620 prescript1645 modificated1646 circumscribed1647 conscribed1654 limitated1654 reserved1654 coarctated1655 straiteneda1665 unabsolute1694 stinted1710 bounded1711 contracted1711 cramped1741 special1815 municipal1856 fine-cut1894 stingy1927 society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restriction or limitation > [adjective] > restricted or limited narroweOE restraint1445 modifiedc1485 limitate1541 restricteda1550 scant1556 contract1561 limited1590 confined1605 limitary1620 prescript1645 modificated1646 circumscribed1647 limitated1654 reserved1654 coarctated1655 unabsolute1694 bounded1711 contracted1711 cramped1741 crimped1828 stingy1927 1927 E. M. Forster Aspects of Novel viii. 205 [James's] characters..are constructed on very stingy lines. They are incapable of fun, of rapid motion, of carnality. 5. Scanty, poor in quantity or amount. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > insufficiency > [adjective] > limited in quantity or amount narrowOE poor?c1225 scarce1297 straitc1386 feeblea1513 scant1556 niggardly1564 slender1564 limited1590 scanted1594 sparing1602 scantled1604 stinted1629 exiguous1630 unlavished1635 scanty1658 unprofuse1727 costivea1734 incopious1734 niggard1751 jimp1768 skimped1839 stingy1854 restricted1856 niggard-measured1881 1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northamptonshire Words II. 297 Stingy, thin, weak; applied to the hair of an animal. 1863 H. W. Longfellow Poet's Tale xvii, in Tales Wayside Inn 197 When your teams Drag home the stingy harvest. 6. Of the brim of a hat: narrow. Also as n., a narrow-brimmed hat. U.S. (Black English). ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > parts of headgear > [adjective] Kevenhuller1746 Nazarene1788 beautya1889 stingy1965 the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > [noun] > hat > with a brim > narrow-brimmed stingy1965 1965 Liberator Aug. 23/2 He was neat from toe to stingy. 1969 N. Cohn Pop from Beginning ix. 85 He wore Stingy Brim straw hats, tight pants, lurid shirts. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1917; most recently modified version published online December 2020). < adj.c1615
随便看	to say it with chocolates to say it with diamonds to say it with etc to say it with flowers to say language against to say little to say mass to say nay to say neither ba nor bum to say neither buff nor baff to say neither buff nor stye to say neither muff nor mum to say not muff to say nothing of to say office to say on to say one thing for to say one's beads to say one's compass to say one's piece to say one's say to say or cry ho to say or speak a villainy to say or speak etc villainy to say or speak no villainy