Tight-fisted describes a person who will not spend money, or who spends as little as possible. The picture inside the word is a hand closed hard around coins so that nothing can fall out. It is not a neutral word — when you call someone tight-fisted, you are saying you disapprove. Compare it with 'careful with money' or 'thrifty', which sound like praise, and with 'economical', which sounds like a sensible choice. Tight-fisted sounds like a complaint. People use it about relatives who never pay for dinner, about a boss who gives tiny pay rises, about a government that will not spend on schools. It is usually said about somebody else, not about yourself — though people do say it about themselves as a small joke. In everyday speech it is common and not rude enough to shock; it is informal but you would still see it in a newspaper. You can also just say 'tight' on its own with the same meaning ('He's so tight'), which is even more casual. Note that the word is about *unwillingness*, not about being poor: a very rich person can be tight-fisted, and that is exactly the situation where people use it most.