tight as Dick's hatband

English

Alternative forms

• tighter than Dick's hatband

Etymology

A variant of the phrase Dick's hatband.

Phrase

as tight as Dick's hatband

1. (colloquial, now principally US, dated) Very tight, whether:
   1. Very tight-fitting.
   2. Very tight with money, very stingy.
      • 2014, C.B. McKenzie, Bad Country, page 108:

        She's sharp as a tack when she wants to be and still tight as Dick's Hatband about her money.

Synonyms

• (very tight-fitting): clingy, figure-hugging, tight-fitting; see also Thesaurus:close-fitting
• (very tight with money): miserly, niggardly, s; see also Thesaurus:stingy

References

• “hatband, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, March 2017.