In other words, he was tight

          "But, look here, we don't want to do anything . . . what's the word?"
          "Precipitate?"
          "Yes, we want to move cautiously. You see, on teh strength of getting engaged to the daughter of a millionaire I'm hoping to extract a thousand quid from Uncle Alaric."
          Lord Ickenham pursed his lips. "From His Grace the pop-eyed Duke of Dunstable? No easy task. His one-way pockets are a byword all over England."
          Archie nodded. He had never blinded himself to the fact that anyone trying to separate cash from the Duke of Dunstable was in much the same positionh as a man endeavoring to take a bone from a short-tempered wolf-hound.

(from Service With a Smile, by Sir Pelham Wodehouse)