Tight-arse/ass

Origin of: Tight-arse/ass

Tight-arse/ass

In British usage since the very early 20th century and describes a mean, miserly person. In America, the meaning is slightly different and means a prudish, repressed, inhibited person, and was usually spelled tight-assed. Curiously, the American noun tight-ass or tightass is only recorded from 1969.