throw nickels around like manhole covers

verb

To be very stingy; to be reluctant to part with money.

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Meanings

verbthrow nickels around like manhole covers (third-person singular simple present throws nickels around like manhole covers, present participle throwing nickels around like manhole covers, simple past threw nickels around like manhole covers, past participle thrown nickels around like manhole covers)

present singular third person throws nickels around like manhole covers · participle present throwing nickels around like manhole covers · past threw nickels around like manhole covers · participle past thrown nickels around like manhole covers

  1. CanadaUScolloquialhumorousTo be very stingy; to be reluctant to part with money.

Origin

See throw money around. A manhole cover is large, heavy, and not easily thrown.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

throw nickels around like manhole covers. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/throw%20nickels%20around%20like%20manhole%20covers

MLA

“throw nickels around like manhole covers.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/throw%20nickels%20around%20like%20manhole%20covers. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “throw nickels around like manhole covers,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/throw%20nickels%20around%20like%20manhole%20covers.

Source: throw nickels around like manhole covers on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.