According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a cheapskate is "a miserly or stingy person; especially one who tries to avoid paying a fair share of costs or expenses." Actually, the defintion of Tightwad is pretty close to this. Not a flattering description by any means. From its first known use in 1896, the word cheapskate is formed with two words, cheap and skate. Cheap is obvious. What of skate? Authorities are fairly certain that the most plausible theory about the "skate" in "cheapskate" traces it to the Scots word "skate," a term of contempt which apparently also crops up in a slightly different form in the archaic term "blatherskite," meaning a person who babbles nonsense. If this theory is true, apparently, "cheapskate" would translate into, essentially, "stingy creep." Tightwad note: cheapskate is not to be confused with frugal, economical or other words related to living within your means. They are represent another thing entirely, which is, in Tightwad's opinion, being pretty awesome.
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