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Idioms are fun phrases where the words together mean something totally different from what they say one by one. People use them to make talking and writing more colorful, exciting, and full of life. Today, you are going to learn a bunch of helpful idioms that all have to do with describing a greedy person.
In this lesson, we’ll look at idioms for greedy person that mean wanting too much, being selfish, and hoarding things. Let’s get started and explore some of these helpful expressions.
Idioms for Greedy Person
1. Pig out
Meaning: To eat a huge amount of food very greedily all at once.
For Example: After soccer practice, we were ready to pig out on pizza and snacks. / Do not pig out on candy before eating your healthy dinner.
Other Ways to Say: Eat a lot / Gorge
2. Wolf down
Meaning: To swallow your food very quickly and greedily without chewing well.
For Example: He had to wolf down his sandwich so he wouldn’t be late for the bus. / The hungry puppy tried to wolf down his food in seconds.
Other Ways to Say: Eat fast / Gobble up
3. Eyes bigger than your stomach
Meaning: Taking or wanting much more food than you could ever possibly eat.
For Example: You loaded your plate with ten cookies because your eyes were bigger than your stomach. / Ordering three large pizzas showed that our eyes were bigger than our stomachs.
Other Ways to Say: Take too much / Be overly greedy
4. Grab all you can
Meaning: To selfishly take as many items or rewards as possible for yourself.
For Example: During the toy sale, some shoppers acted like it was a grab all you can event. / Sharing is better than playing a grab all you can game.
Other Ways to Say: Take everything / Act selfishly
5. Hold onto every penny
Meaning: Being overly stingy and greedy with money, refusing to spend or share.
For Example: He refuses to buy a single snack because he likes to hold onto every penny. / You do not need to hold onto every penny when friends are sharing treats.
Other Ways to Say: Be stingy / Hoard money
6. Skin a flea for its hide
Meaning: An old-fashioned expression for being extremely stingy and greedy over tiny amounts.
For Example: The grumpy shopkeeper acted like he would skin a flea for its hide over a nickel. / Don’t be so greedy that you try to skin a flea for its hide.
Other Ways to Say: Extremely stingy / Overly greedy
7. Penny pincher
Meaning: A person who is extremely greedy and unwilling to spend any money.
For Example: My uncle is such a penny pincher that he reuses old paper plates. / Being careful with money is smart, but don’t become a penny pincher.
Other Ways to Say: Stingy person / Miser
8. Tightwad
Meaning: A derogatory term for someone who is very stingy and greedy with cash.
For Example: He wouldn’t pitch in a quarter for the class gift because he acted like a tightwad. / Don’t be a tightwad when it’s time to share the costs of the party.
Other Ways to Say: Miser / Stingy person
9. Scrooge
Meaning: A famous character name used for someone who is greedy and unkind.
For Example: He refused to donate a single toy, acting just like a grumpy old Scrooge. / Don’t be a Scrooge during the holiday season of giving.
Other Ways to Say: Miser / Selfish person
10. Hoard like a squirrel
Meaning: To collect and hide away items or food selfishly for yourself.
For Example: She started to hoard like a squirrel with all the colored pencils in her desk. / There is no need to hoard like a squirrel when we have plenty of art supplies to share.
Other Ways to Say: Stockpile / Keep everything
11. All for me and none for you
Meaning: A selfish motto representing greedy behavior and unwillingness to share.
For Example: The puppy growled at the other dogs with an all for me and none for you attitude. / Sharing candy is better than having an all for me and none for you mindset.
Other Ways to Say: Extremely selfish / Self-centered
12. Have your cake and eat it too
Meaning: Wanting to keep something and consume it as well, showing greedy desires.
For Example: You cannot spend your allowance and still keep the money, you want to have your cake and eat it too. / Trying to take all the prizes means you want to have your cake and eat it too.
Other Ways to Say: Want everything / Be greedy
13. Grasping at straws
Meaning: Desperately trying to hold onto anything out of greed or panic.
For Example: When the prize table emptied out, he was grasping at straws for leftover stickers. / Don’t be so greedy; you are just grasping at straws.
Other Ways to Say: Desperate / Grab blindly
14. Keep it all to yourself
Meaning: Refusing to share resources or treats with other people.
For Example: It is not nice to keep all the crayons to yourself during art class. / She didn’t want to share her snacks and tried to keep it all to herself.
Other Ways to Say: Refuse to share / Be selfish
15. Count your coins greedily
Meaning: Obsessively checking and hoarding money without sharing.
For Example: The miser sat in his room to count his coins greedily every evening. / Don’t waste time trying to count your coins greedily; go play outside.
Other Ways to Say: Hoard cash / Be stingy
16. Selfish streak
Meaning: A personality trait where someone acts greedy and puts themselves first.
For Example: He showed a selfish streak when he refused to let anyone else use the computer. / Try to overcome any selfish streak by sharing with your siblings.
Other Ways to Say: Self-centered behavior / Greediness
17. Me first attitude
Meaning: A mindset where a person always demands to go or take things first.
For Example: Pushing ahead in the lunch line shows a bad me first attitude. / Teamwork works much better than a me first attitude.
Other Ways to Say: Selfishness / Greedy mindset
18. Take the lion’s share
Meaning: To take the biggest and best portion of something for yourself.
For Example: My big brother tried to take the lion’s share of the pizza slices. / In group projects, you should share equally rather than take the lion’s share.
Other Ways to Say: Take the most / Grab the biggest part
19. Hog the blanket
Meaning: To pull all the bedcovers over to your side selfishly.
For Example: My sister always tries to hog the blanket during cold winter nights. / Please share and don’t hog the blanket on the sofa.
Other Ways to Say: Take everything / Be selfish
20. Hog the spotlight
Meaning: Wanting all the attention, praise, and glory for yourself.
For Example: In the group presentation, he tried to hog the spotlight from everyone else. / Let your classmates speak instead of trying to hog the spotlight.
Other Ways to Say: Steal attention / Be greedy for fame
21. Hog the remote
Meaning: Refusing to let anyone else change the television channel.
For Example: Dad joked that my brother always tries to hog the remote control. / Take turns watching shows instead of trying to hog the remote.
Other Ways to Say: Control everything / Be greedy
22. Take the whole pie
Meaning: Taking an entire resource or reward so nobody else gets any.
For Example: Ordering every dessert meant he tried to take the whole pie for himself. / Sharing means you don’t take the whole pie.
Other Ways to Say: Take all / Be greedy
23. Grabby hands
Meaning: Reaching out eagerly and selfishly to take things that aren’t yours.
For Example: The toddler had grabby hands whenever someone opened a box of cookies. / Keep your grabby hands to yourself until everyone gets a turn.
Other Ways to Say: Eagerly grasping / Selfish reaching
24. Always want more
Meaning: An insatiable appetite for accumulating items, food, or money.
For Example: No matter how many toys he gets for his birthday, he always wants more. / A greedy person will always want more instead of being satisfied.
Other Ways to Say: Never satisfied / Insatiable
25. Never satisfied
Meaning: A greedy trait where achieving or getting things never feels like enough.
For Example: He bought three video games and was still never satisfied with his collection. / Being grateful stops you from being never satisfied with what you have.
Other Ways to Say: Always want more / Greedy
26. Bottomless pit
Meaning: Describing someone’s appetite or desire for food and items that never ends.
For Example: My growing teenage brother is like a bottomless pit when eating pizza. / Her toy box is like a bottomless pit because she keeps demanding more.
Other Ways to Say: Endless appetite / Insatiable
27. Greedy guts
Meaning: A playful or teasing phrase for someone who eats too much food greedily.
For Example: He ate four bowls of ice cream, earning the nickname greedy guts. / Don’t be a greedy guts and leave some cookies for your friends.
Other Ways to Say: Overeater / Glutton
28. Eyes bigger than your plate
Meaning: Taking way too much food onto your dish because of greed.
For Example: Leaving half your dinner behind proves your eyes were bigger than your plate. / Take smaller portions so your eyes aren’t bigger than your plate.
Other Ways to Say: Take too much food / Be greedy
29. Take advantage of kindness
Meaning: Greedily using someone’s generosity to get more than your share.
For Example: When she offered to share her stickers, he tried to take advantage of kindness by taking them all. / Don’t take advantage of kindness when people offer help.
Other Ways to Say: Exploit generosity / Be greedy
30. Bite the hand that feeds you
Meaning: Being ungrateful and greedy toward someone who helps you.
For Example: Complaining about the free lunch is like trying to bite the hand that feeds you. / Always be thankful instead of biting the hand that feeds you.
Other Ways to Say: Be ungrateful / Act selfishly
31. Out for number one
Meaning: Looking out only for your own selfish interests and gains.
For Example: He only joins group projects if it helps him, because he is always out for number one. / True friends care about each other instead of being out for number one.
Other Ways to Say: Selfish / Self-centered
32. Me, myself, and I
Meaning: A phrase describing someone whose world revolves entirely around their own greed.
For Example: His favorite team members are me, myself, and I when it comes to sharing snacks. / Thinking only of me, myself, and I makes it hard to make friends.
Other Ways to Say: Extremely selfish / Self-absorbed
33. All mine
Meaning: Claiming ownership over shared items in a greedy manner.
For Example: The toddler hugged the pile of blocks and shouted all mine. / Sharing is much better than screaming all mine when friends want to play.
Other Ways to Say: Hoarding / Claiming everything
34. Grab and run
Meaning: Taking items greedily and leaving quickly without sharing.
For Example: He did a grab and run with the last three chocolate brownies. / Play fair instead of doing a grab and run with the game pieces.
Other Ways to Say: Steal away / Take selfishly
35. Greedy as a pig
Meaning: A simile comparing someone’s messy or excessive eating and hoarding to a farm animal.
For Example: He ate all the chips in one minute, acting as greedy as a pig. / Don’t be greedy as a pig when sharing the birthday cake.
Other Ways to Say: Very greedy / Gluttonous
36. Greedy as a wolf
Meaning: A simile describing someone who devours food or items fiercely and selfishly.
For Example: The hungry hiker ate the sandwiches as greedy as a wolf. / He eyed the remaining pizza slices as greedy as a wolf.
Other Ways to Say: Fiercely hungry / Highly greedy
37. Ravenous as a beast
Meaning: Having an extreme, almost wild hunger or desire for food and items.
For Example: After playing sports all afternoon, we were as ravenous as a beast. / His appetite for collecting comic books is as ravenous as a beast.
Other Ways to Say: Wildly hungry / Excessively eager
38. Gluttonous appetite
Meaning: Having an excessive and greedy desire to eat or consume without stopping.
For Example: Ordering five hamburgers showed a rather gluttonous appetite. / Control your gluttonous appetite so everyone gets a fair share.
Other Ways to Say: Excessive hunger / Greedy eating
39. Eyeing the last slice
Meaning: Staring hungrily and greedily at the final piece of food.
For Example: Everyone sat around the table eyeing the last slice of pepperoni pizza. / Stop eyeing the last slice of cake and let your sister have a turn.
Other Ways to Say: Staring hungrily / Wanting more
40. Grab the biggest piece
Meaning: Selfishly selecting the largest portion before anyone else can choose.
For Example: He always tries to grab the biggest piece of cake at parties. / Be polite and don’t try to grab the biggest piece of pie.
Other Ways to Say: Take the most / Be selfish
41. Grasping hands
Meaning: Reaching out greedily to snatch items away from others.
For Example: Keep your grasping hands away from my puzzle pieces. / The greedy character in the story had grasping hands.
Other Ways to Say: Snatching / Greedy reaching
42. Accumulate without end
Meaning: Constantly gathering and hoarding items out of pure greed.
For Example: He likes to accumulate without end even things he doesn’t need. / Learning to share is better than trying to accumulate without end.
Other Ways to Say: Hoard endlessly / Collect greedily
43. Miserly habits
Meaning: Behaving like a miser who hoards every cent and shares nothing.
For Example: His miserly habits meant he never chipped in for class pizza parties. / Overcome your miserly habits and donate your old toys.
Other Ways to Say: Stingy behavior / Greedy actions
44. Cling to your treasures
Meaning: Holding tightly onto possessions out of fear of sharing.
For Example: There is no need to cling to your treasures when friends want to play. / He tends to cling to his treasures instead of trading comics.
Other Ways to Say: Hoard items / Refuse to share
45. Never give a dime
Meaning: Being so stingy and greedy that you never spend money to help others.
For Example: He would never give a dime to charity because of his tightwad habits. / Be generous instead of vowing to never give a dime.
Other Ways to Say: Extremely stingy / Uncharitable
46. Count every penny twice
Meaning: Being overly obsessed with money and unwilling to spend a thing.
For Example: My grandfather doesn’t need to count every penny twice, but he’s very careful. / Don’t count every penny twice when buying simple school supplies.
Other Ways to Say: Overly frugal / Stingy
47. Guard your stash
Meaning: Protecting your hoarded food, money, or toys from everyone else.
For Example: The squirrel sat in the tree to guard its stash of acorns. / He locked his bedroom door to guard his stash of candy.
Other Ways to Say: Protect hoarded items / Hide treasures
48. Keep under lock and key
Meaning: Hiding your belongings away securely so nobody else can touch them.
For Example: She kept her comic books under lock and key so her brother wouldn’t read them. / You don’t need to keep your art markers under lock and key; just share them.
Other Ways to Say: Hide securely / Guard items
49. Hoard like a miser
Meaning: Stashing away money or goods obsessively and selfishly.
For Example: He started to hoard like a miser with his weekly allowance coins. / Sharing brings more joy than trying to hoard like a miser.
Other Ways to Say: Stockpile cash / Be stingy
50. Take all the credit
Meaning: Being greedy for praise and refusing to share success with teammates.
For Example: Even though we built the robot together, he tried to take all the credit. / A good leader shares praise instead of trying to take all the credit.
Other Ways to Say: Be selfish for praise / Steal glory
51. Grab the microphone
Meaning: Greedily taking over a conversation so nobody else can talk.
For Example: During group chats, he always tries to grab the microphone and talk about himself. / Let others share their ideas instead of trying to grab the microphone.
Other Ways to Say: Dominate conversation / Be selfish
52. Hoard the spotlight
Meaning: Trying to keep all praise and attention centered on yourself.
For Example: She tried to hoard the spotlight during the school play rehearsals. / True friends encourage others instead of trying to hoard the spotlight.
Other Ways to Say: Steal attention / Be greedy for fame
53. Take every penny
Meaning: Charging or taking maximum money without any fairness.
For Example: The ticket seller tried to take every penny we had saved. / Fair pricing is better than trying to take every penny from customers.
Other Ways to Say: Overcharge / Take all money
54. Charge an arm and a leg
Meaning: Demanding an unreasonable amount of money or items for something.
For Example: The store wanted to charge an arm and a leg for a simple notebook. / Don’t charge an arm and a leg when selling your old toys to friends.
Other Ways to Say: Cost too much / Be overly expensive
55. Grasping at gold
Meaning: Being overly obsessed with chasing wealth and expensive items.
For Example: The greedy character in the fairy tale spent his life grasping at gold. / Focus on friendship rather than grasping at gold.
Other Ways to Say: Obsessed with money / Greedy
56. Money hungry
Meaning: Desperately wanting and chasing after money with intense greed.
For Example: He took on three extra chores just because he was so money hungry. / Being kind matters more than being money hungry.
Other Ways to Say: Greedy for cash / Obsessed with wealth
57. Power hungry
Meaning: Greedily desiring control and authority over other people.
For Example: The villain in the story was power hungry and wanted to rule the castle. / Working together is better than being power hungry in club games.
Other Ways to Say: Desiring control / Greedy for authority
58. Attention hungry
Meaning: Greedily craving constant praise and focus from everyone around you.
For Example: Acting silly during class tests showed he was just attention hungry. / You don’t need to show off to be liked, stop being attention hungry.
Other Ways to Say: Craving focus / Seeking praise
59. Want your cake and eat it
Meaning: Demanding contradictory benefits out of pure greed.
For Example: You want to skip practice but still play in the game; you want your cake and eat it. / Expecting all the rewards without working is wanting your cake and eat it.
Other Ways to Say: Want everything / Be greedy
60. Take the whole cookie jar
Meaning: Selfishly taking every single treat and leaving nothing for others.
For Example: He walked into the kitchen and tried to take the whole cookie jar. / Leave some snacks behind instead of trying to take the whole cookie jar.
Other Ways to Say: Take everything / Be selfish
Exercise to Practice
- After soccer practice, we were ready to ________ out on pizza and snacks.
- Ordering three large pizzas showed that our eyes were bigger than our ________.
- My uncle is such a penny ________ that he reuses old paper plates.
- Don’t be a ________ during the holiday season of giving.
- She started to ________ like a squirrel with all the colored pencils in her desk.
- My big brother tried to take the ________ share of the pizza slices.
- My sister always tries to ________ the blanket during cold winter nights.
- Keep your grabby ________ to yourself until everyone gets a turn.
- Ordering five hamburgers showed a rather ________ appetite.
- Everyone sat around the table eyeing the last ________ of pepperoni pizza.
- He always tries to grab the biggest ________ of cake at parties.
- He likes to ________ without end even things he doesn’t need.
- His miserly ________ meant he never chipped in for class pizza parties.
- The squirrel sat in the tree to ________ its stash of acorns.
- Even though we built the robot together, he tried to take all the ________.
Answer Key
- pig
- stomachs
- pincher
- Scrooge
- hoard
- lion’s
- hog
- hands
- gluttonous
- slice
- piece
- accumulate
- habits
- guard
- credit
Conclusion
Learning idioms about a greedy person helps you understand stories, character traits, and everyday conversations much better. When you know what these colorful phrases mean, you can recognize selfishness and appreciate the value of sharing.
Try using a few of these expressions the next time you talk about sharing snacks or playing fair with friends. Practicing them out loud is a great way to remember them and make your communication sound awesome.
