You are so cheap!

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ardmore

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My friend told me that her peer spoke to her "you are so cheap" when my friend worked over time. She works 10 more hours per day but her peer only works 8 hours.

She felt that she was insult.
But is it just a joke? May be the culture difference to cause the misunderstanding.

Thanks
 
I think that when you say somebody is "cheap", it means they are "mean" or "stingy".

Regards.
 
I agree with ardmore.
What happened exactly?
 
It sounds like a joke rather than an insult, but it a lot would depend on the way it was said.
 
My friend told me that her peer spoke to her "you are so cheap" when my friend worked over time. She works 10 more hours per day but her peer only works 8 hours.

She felt that she was insult.
But is it just a joke? May be the culture difference to cause the misunderstanding.

Thanks
"You're so cheap" can mean two things - neither of which are illustrated by working overtime.
1. It means, as the others have said, stingy - someone who doesn't like to spend money. (An American meaning, I believe.)
2. It can also mean someone who is easily bought. "She's so cheap, she'd sleep with anyone for a rum and coke".

If she's working overtime and getting extra money that she doesn't spend, the meaning is 1.
If she's working overtime for nothing, the meaning is 2.

Either way, it could be a joke or not.
 
It sounds like a joke rather than an insult, but it a lot would depend on the way it was said.
:up:

Her labour was cheaper than her colleagues: A day's pay/10 < A day's pay/8 (if the amount of work done in an hour is the same)
But this would be an unusual use of 'cheap'.

b
 
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