cheap Charlie

noun

A cheapskate, a miser.

Similar
misercarlcheapasscheapiecheapskatecheapochurlclutchfist
Opposite
two week millionairespendthrift
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nouncheap Charlie (plural cheap Charlies)

plural cheap Charlies

  1. AustraliaUSslangSoutheast AsiaA cheapskate, a miser.

    Synonyms: miser, carl, cheapass, cheapie, cheapskate, cheapo, churl, clutchfist · Antonyms: two week millionaire, spendthrift

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA cheapskate, a miser.

Similar
misercarlcheapasscheapiecheapskatecheapochurlclutchfistel cheapolast of the big spendersmagpiemisermoneygrubbermuckwormnickel nursernickel-shavernigniggardnigonnipcheese
Opposite
two week millionairespendthrift

Origin

See cheap and Charlie (“Vietcong”, US military slang); likely originated among US soldiers in Vietnam as a Vietnam War-era military slang to refer to American GIs who were unwilling to spend extravagantly at bars or restaurants, or for prostitutes.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

cheap Charlie. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cheap%20Charlie

MLA

“cheap Charlie.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cheap%20Charlie. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cheap Charlie,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cheap%20Charlie.

Source: cheap Charlie on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.