一毛不拔
yī máo bù bá
too mean to part with a hair
Character by character
一yī
one
one
毛máo
hair
hair
不bù
not
not
拔bá
pluck
pluck
Example
他有钱，却一毛不拔。
He's rich, but he won't part with a cent.
Tone: negative (criticism).
Usage and origin
From Mencius on Yang Zhu, who would not pluck one hair even to benefit the whole world.
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