"bean counter" meaning in English

See bean counter in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Audio: en-au-bean counter.ogg Forms: bean counters [plural]
Etymology: Probably from German Erbsenzähler (literally “pea counter”) Etymology templates: {{bor|en|de|Erbsenzähler|lit=pea counter}} German Erbsenzähler (literally “pea counter”) Head templates: {{en-noun}} bean counter (plural bean counters)
  1. (idiomatic, mildly derogatory) A person who is excessively interested in controlling or reducing expenses, increasing profits, or in quantitative details in general. The term is often used to imply the person is a pedant and incapable of seeing other things or the bigger picture (more general things), but it is also widely used as a mildly derogatory term and even facetious synonym for accountants, CEOs, CFOs, business and government officials responsible for financial decisions, etc. Tags: derogatory, idiomatic, mildly Categories (topical): People Synonyms: bean-counter, beancounter Translations (person excessively interested in expenses and quantitative details): penninpyörittäjä (Finnish), Erbsenzähler [masculine] (German), Erbsenzählerin [feminine] (German), ciferšpión [masculine] (Slovak)

Inflected forms

Alternative forms

{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "de",
        "3": "Erbsenzähler",
        "lit": "pea counter"
      },
      "expansion": "German Erbsenzähler (literally “pea counter”)",
      "name": "bor"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Probably from German Erbsenzähler (literally “pea counter”)",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "bean counters",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "bean counter (plural bean counters)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Slovak translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "People",
          "orig": "en:People",
          "parents": [
            "Human",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1985 August 2, “Editorial: Sniffing at DOC health costs”, in Gainsville Sun, retrieved 2009-09-13, page 14A:",
          "text": "As any good bean counter will tell you, it costs money to treat people at a hospital.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2008 December 23, Robert Chew, “Who Is Bernie Madoff? Many Investors Didn't Ask”, in Time, retrieved 2009-09-13:",
          "text": "And, in our case, the accounting firm of Halpern & Mantovani, CPA, in Encino, Calif., Chais' chief bean counter, pumped out the quarterly statements as if it were all rock solid.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A person who is excessively interested in controlling or reducing expenses, increasing profits, or in quantitative details in general. The term is often used to imply the person is a pedant and incapable of seeing other things or the bigger picture (more general things), but it is also widely used as a mildly derogatory term and even facetious synonym for accountants, CEOs, CFOs, business and government officials responsible for financial decisions, etc."
      ],
      "id": "en-bean_counter-en-noun-uEEinAsp",
      "links": [
        [
          "derogatory",
          "derogatory"
        ],
        [
          "quantitative",
          "quantitative"
        ],
        [
          "pedant",
          "pedant"
        ],
        [
          "bigger picture",
          "bigger picture"
        ],
        [
          "accountant",
          "accountant"
        ],
        [
          "CEO",
          "CEO"
        ],
        [
          "CFO",
          "CFO"
        ],
        [
          "financial",
          "financial"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, mildly derogatory) A person who is excessively interested in controlling or reducing expenses, increasing profits, or in quantitative details in general. The term is often used to imply the person is a pedant and incapable of seeing other things or the bigger picture (more general things), but it is also widely used as a mildly derogatory term and even facetious synonym for accountants, CEOs, CFOs, business and government officials responsible for financial decisions, etc."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "bean-counter"
        },
        {
          "word": "beancounter"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "derogatory",
        "idiomatic",
        "mildly"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "person excessively interested in expenses and quantitative details",
          "word": "penninpyörittäjä"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "person excessively interested in expenses and quantitative details",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "Erbsenzähler"
        },
        {
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "person excessively interested in expenses and quantitative details",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "Erbsenzählerin"
        },
        {
          "code": "sk",
          "lang": "Slovak",
          "sense": "person excessively interested in expenses and quantitative details",
          "tags": [
            "masculine"
          ],
          "word": "ciferšpión"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-bean counter.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/98/En-au-bean_counter.ogg/En-au-bean_counter.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/En-au-bean_counter.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "bean counter"
}
{
  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "de",
        "3": "Erbsenzähler",
        "lit": "pea counter"
      },
      "expansion": "German Erbsenzähler (literally “pea counter”)",
      "name": "bor"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Probably from German Erbsenzähler (literally “pea counter”)",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "bean counters",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {},
      "expansion": "bean counter (plural bean counters)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English countable nouns",
        "English derogatory terms",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English idioms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English nouns",
        "English terms borrowed from German",
        "English terms derived from German",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Entries with translation boxes",
        "Pages with 1 entry",
        "Pages with entries",
        "Terms with Finnish translations",
        "Terms with German translations",
        "Terms with Slovak translations",
        "en:People"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "1985 August 2, “Editorial: Sniffing at DOC health costs”, in Gainsville Sun, retrieved 2009-09-13, page 14A:",
          "text": "As any good bean counter will tell you, it costs money to treat people at a hospital.",
          "type": "quote"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2008 December 23, Robert Chew, “Who Is Bernie Madoff? Many Investors Didn't Ask”, in Time, retrieved 2009-09-13:",
          "text": "And, in our case, the accounting firm of Halpern & Mantovani, CPA, in Encino, Calif., Chais' chief bean counter, pumped out the quarterly statements as if it were all rock solid.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A person who is excessively interested in controlling or reducing expenses, increasing profits, or in quantitative details in general. The term is often used to imply the person is a pedant and incapable of seeing other things or the bigger picture (more general things), but it is also widely used as a mildly derogatory term and even facetious synonym for accountants, CEOs, CFOs, business and government officials responsible for financial decisions, etc."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "derogatory",
          "derogatory"
        ],
        [
          "quantitative",
          "quantitative"
        ],
        [
          "pedant",
          "pedant"
        ],
        [
          "bigger picture",
          "bigger picture"
        ],
        [
          "accountant",
          "accountant"
        ],
        [
          "CEO",
          "CEO"
        ],
        [
          "CFO",
          "CFO"
        ],
        [
          "financial",
          "financial"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, mildly derogatory) A person who is excessively interested in controlling or reducing expenses, increasing profits, or in quantitative details in general. The term is often used to imply the person is a pedant and incapable of seeing other things or the bigger picture (more general things), but it is also widely used as a mildly derogatory term and even facetious synonym for accountants, CEOs, CFOs, business and government officials responsible for financial decisions, etc."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "derogatory",
        "idiomatic",
        "mildly"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "en-au-bean counter.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/98/En-au-bean_counter.ogg/En-au-bean_counter.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/En-au-bean_counter.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "bean-counter"
    },
    {
      "word": "beancounter"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "person excessively interested in expenses and quantitative details",
      "word": "penninpyörittäjä"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "person excessively interested in expenses and quantitative details",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "Erbsenzähler"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "person excessively interested in expenses and quantitative details",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "Erbsenzählerin"
    },
    {
      "code": "sk",
      "lang": "Slovak",
      "sense": "person excessively interested in expenses and quantitative details",
      "tags": [
        "masculine"
      ],
      "word": "ciferšpión"
    }
  ],
  "word": "bean counter"
}

Download raw JSONL data for bean counter meaning in English (3.8kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-11-06 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-10-02 using wiktextract (fbeafe8 and 7f03c9b). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.