Wiktionary

skimpy

English

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Etymology

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From skimp +‎ -y.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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skimpy (comparative skimpier, superlative skimpiest)

  1. Small or inadequate; not generous; diminutive.
    They served a pretty skimpy portion of ice cream as the free birthday dessert.
    • 1896, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, The Wheels of Chance: A Holiday Adventure, London: J[oseph] M[alaby] Dent and Co.; New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Co., →OCLC:
      He was of a pallid complexion, hair of a kind of dirty fairness, greyish eyes, and a skimpy, immature moustache under his peaked indeterminate nose.
    • 1909, O. Henry [pseudonym; William Sydney Porter], “Thimble, Thimble”, in Options‎[1]:
      You was a po' skimpy little boy no mo' than about fo'teen when you lef' home to come No'th; but I knowed you the minute I sot eyes on you.
    • 1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 26:
      [T]he driver was delayed there by a skimpy little woman with a thin piping voice practised in the art of defeating escape from it by a ceaseless stream of gabble.
    • 1986 April 19, Michael Bronski, “Two Views on Desert Hearts: Sexy? or simply Slow?”, in Gay Community News, page 9:
      Desert Hearts is one of the high spots in the skimpy history of gay movies — and probably the high spot in the even more barren history of lesbian films.
    • 1992, Toni Morrison, Jazz, Vintage (2016), page 72:
      Food might be a tad skimpy in the portions.
  2. (of a garment) Very small, light, or revealing.
    Have you ever seen such a skimpy bikini?
    • 1904 January 29 – October 7, Joseph Conrad, Nostromo: A Tale of the Seaboard, London, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers […], published 1904, →OCLC:
      The long, skimpy soutane accentuated the tallness of his stature; he carried his powerful torso thrown forward; […]
    • 1922 February, James Joyce, “[8]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:
      Denis Breen in skimpy frockcoat and blue canvas shoes shuffled out of Harrison’s hugging two heavy tomes to his ribs.
    • 1922, Sinclair Lewis, chapter 2, in Babbitt, New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace and Company, →OCLC:
      His suit, the latest thing in Old Eli Togs, was skin-tight, with skimpy trousers to the tops of his glaring tan boots, a chorus-man waistline, pattern of an agitated check, and across the back a belt which belted nothing.
    • 2017, David Walliams [pseudonym; David Edward Williams], Bad Dad, London: HarperCollins Children’s Books, →ISBN:
      Chang the elderly butler entered, wearing only a pair of skimpy black underpants.
    • 2020 August 9, Richard Godwin, “Tight fit: the comeback of the skimpy swimming brief”, in The Observer‎[2], →ISSN:
      But he holds some hope that the skimpy brief is becoming more acceptable, especially given the attention that even young British men give to honing their bodies.
  3. (of a person) Wearing skimpy clothing; scantily clad.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Noun

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skimpy (plural skimpies)

  1. (Australia, Western Australia) A barmaid who wears little clothing. [From 1988.]
    • 2000, Australian Journal of Mining, page 2:
      It's a curious mix: weatherworn miners, fresh faced bankers, and a couple of g-stringed skimpies.
    • 2007, Terry Carter, Lara Dunston, Perth & Western Australia, Lonely Planet, page 159:
      For an anthropological experience, the front bar at the Exchange Hotel provides a window into some locals′ lives at all hours of the day, with skimpies, TV sports and mine workers chain-drinking.
    • 2010, Kathy Marks, “Tears of the Sun”, in Robert Drewe, editor, The Best Australian Essays 2010, page 239:
      ‘ […] There are thirty-two hotels in Kalgoorlie, and only seven would have skimpies [scantily clad barmaids].’
    • 2017 March 27, Calla Wahlquist, “'Skimpies' night: the Western Australia pub tradition that refuses to die”, in The Guardian‎[3], →ISSN:
      Skimpy barmaids, or just “skimpies,” refers to female bar staff who wear a bikini or lingerie. They are a feature of working class pubs in industrial suburbs and mining towns, which often advertise skimpies during traditionally quieter times such as midweek lunch and dinner services in an effort to attract customers.

Derived terms

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