an old screw
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
A miser who has amassed wealth by "putting on the screw" (see below), and who keeps his money tight, doling it out only in screws.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “an old screw” mean?
A miser who has amassed wealth by "putting on the screw" (see below), and who keeps his money tight, doling it out only in screws.
Is “an old screw” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.