Snudging

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Nestling down or cuddling closely for comfort and warmth ; living in a stingy, penny-pinching way to save every coin
2. Huddling snugly against someone or something for shelter ; economizing harshly and scrimping on even basic needs
3. Curling up close to keep warm ; being thrifty to the point of meanness in order to hoard money

Etymology: "Snudging" is the present participle of "snudge," a verb whose origin nobody has pinned down. Its noun form may have come from the verb rather than the other way round, and the one lead that gets proposed is "snug," the word for something cosy and sheltered. That link is only a possibility, though, and the verb's roots remain unexplained. What is known is the verb's sense: to live in a miserly, grudging way, hoarding and avoiding spending. The participle carries that same meaning into descriptions of someone who is actively doing it at the moment.