History Main / ThriftyScot

Along with being [[BraveScot brave]] and [[ViolentGlaswegian violent]], [[{{UsefulNotes/Scotland}} Scottish people]] are also often stereotyped as being thrifty, if not outright stingy, with their money and belongings. Within Scotland itself, people from Aberdeen may be stereotyped as being especially thrifty. Probably TruthInTelevision, since Scotland has always been a poor area compared to England, not to mention being considerably less fertile than the south. Thrift is a necessity under such circumstances. This would be perhaps supported by the fact that among Englishmen people from [[OopNorth Yorkshire]] have a stereotypical reputation for thrift. On the other hand, Ireland has in large periods of its history been considered even poorer but the Irish are stereotyped as impulsively generous.

* Despite his CatchPhrase of "Spared no expense!", John Hammond in ''Film/JurassicPark1993'' is given a Scottish accent in part to emphasise his cutting corners wherever pssible.

* Despite his {{Catchphrase}} of "Spared no expense!", John Hammond in ''Film/JurassicPark1993'' is given a Scottish accent in part to emphasise his cutting corners wherever pssible.

* Scrooge Mc Duck, of ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' fame, is perhaps Disney's best-known example of this trope. His thriftiness varies from a virtue to being outright miserly depending on the story. It's widely believed he was based on both Ebeneezer Scrooge of AChristmasCarol and Andrew Carnegie, the latter being a fabulously wealthy Scottish industrialist. Later in life Carnegie became a philanthropist, but Scrooge remained quite ungenerous with his wealth and adhered to this trope.

->Anybody so cheap as to wade into a quicksand bog after one golf ball shows the classic spirit of a Highlander!
-->--''ComicBook/TheLifeAndTimesOfScroogeMcDuck''

->''"In Scotland, panic buying of petrol is rampant, with Scots putting in as much as ''five pounds'' at the pump."''
-->-- '''Creator/BrianBlessed''', ''Series/HaveIGotNewsForYou'' [[note]]For transatlantic reference, £5 is around $8, next to nothing in terms of US petrol buying and next to the square root of bugger all in more expensive Britain.[[/note]]

* In one essay George Orwell comments on a joke at the time: when a collection plate at a lecture comes around, a Jew faints and a Scotsman carries him out. He points out this also fits the stereotype of the Scots being physically strong and the Jews being physically weak (this was before modern Israel).

* In 1944, a rumor spread that President Franklin Roosevelt had left his Scottish Terrier behind on an island, and sent a destroyer to fetch him back at great cost. Roosevelt drew on this trope (as well as ViolentGlaswegian) in his response:

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': While he doesn't have a typical Scottish accent ([[{{TalkLikeAPirate}} he talks like a]] [[{{UsefulNotes/TheWestCountry}} stereotypical 17th-18th Century English pirate]]), [[{{TheBarnum}} Eugene H.]] [[{{MoneyFetish}} Krabs]] otherwise fits the bill here ''EXTREMELY'' well. His fellow crabs at a convention in "Kracked Krabs" also fit this trope, and they actually compete to see who is the cheapest one of all. Krabs wins by a landslide when he attempts to steal his and [=SpongeBob=]'s hotel room while checking out after being asked to leave. [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer And yes, you did read that correctly]], he didn't just [[StealingFromTheHotel steal FROM the hotel room]], he tried to steal the ''entire'' room.

* ''I'll Be There'', a 2002 movie starring Charlotte Church and Creator/CraigFerguson, had Ferguson's drunken, profligate ex-rock star character crash through his mansion's window on a motorbike. While in the hospital the next day, the doctor asked him if he had suicidal feelings; he replied, "Why would I do that? I'm rich, and I'm Scottish."

* The [[Creator/MaxAndDaveFleischer Max Fleischer]] "[[InNameOnly adaptation]]" of ''Literature/TheRaven'' completely overhauls [[Creator/EdgarAllenPoe Edgar Allen Poe's]] poem to make the titular raven a TravelingSalesman trying to sell a vacuum cleaner to a wealthy FunnyAnimal Scottish terrier, who fits this trope to a T.

Along with being [[BraveScot brave]] and [[ViolentGlaswegian violent]], [[UsefulNotes/Scotland Scottish people]] are also often stereotyped as being thrifty, if not outright stingy, with their money and belongings. Within Scotland itself, people from Aberdeen may be stereotyped as being especially thrifty. Probably TruthInTelevision, since Scotland has always been a poor area compared to England, not to mention being considerably less fertile than the south. Thrift is a necessity under such circumstances. This would be perhaps supported by the fact that among Englishmen people from [[OopNorth Yorkshire]] have a stereotypical reputation for thrift. On the other hand, Ireland has in large periods of its history been considered even poorer but the Irish are stereotyped as impulsively generous.

Along with being [[BraveScot brave]] and [[ViolentGlaswegian violent]], Scottish people are also often stereotyped as being thrifty, if not outright stingy, with their money and belongings. Within Scotland itself, people from Aberdeen may be stereotyped as being especially thrifty. Probably TruthInTelevision, since Scotland has always been a poor area compared to England, not to mention being considerably less fertile than the south. Thrift is a necessity under such circumstances. This would be perhaps supported by the fact that among Englishmen people from [[OopNorth Yorkshire]] have a stereotypical reputation for thrift. On the other hand, Ireland has in large periods of its history been considered even poorer but the Irish are stereotyped as impulsively generous.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': While he doesn't have a typical Scottish accent ([[{{TalkLikeAPirate}} he talks like a]] [[{{UsefulNotes/TheWestCountry}} stereotypical 17th-18th Century pirate]]), [[{{TheBarnum}} Eugene H.]] [[{{MoneyFetish}} Krabs]] otherwise fits the bill here ''EXTREMELY'' well. His fellow crabs at a convention in "Kracked Krabs" also fit this trope, and they actually compete to see who is the cheapest one of all. Krabs wins by a landslide when he attempts to steal his and [=SpongeBob=]'s hotel room while checking out after being asked to leave. [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer And yes, you did read that correctly]], he didn't just [[StealingFromTheHotel steal FROM the hotel room]], he tried to steal the ''entire'' room.

** "You may have heard that nasty rumour floating around that copper wire was invented by two Scotsmen fighting over a penny."

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': While he doesn't have a typical Scottish accent (he talks like a [[{{UsefulNotes/TheWestCountry}} stereotypical 17th-18th Century pirate]]), [[{{TheBarnum}} Eugene H.]] [[{{MoneyFetish}} Krabs]] otherwise fits the bill here ''EXTREMELY'' well. His fellow crabs at a convention in "Kracked Krabs" also fit this trope, and they actually compete to see who is the cheapest one of all. Krabs wins by a landslide when he attempts to steal his and [=SpongeBob=]'s hotel room while checking out after being asked to leave. [[NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer And yes, you did read that correctly]], he didn't just [[StealingFromTheHotel steal FROM the hotel room]], he tried to steal the ''entire'' room.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' cartoon "WesternAnimation/MyBunnyLiesOverTheSea", the Scotsman whom WesternAnimation/BugsBunny messes with is shown as being thrifty. He has only one bullet that he has kept in the family for years, and he is tricked into lowering Bugs' golf score because Bugs makes it seem like an auction and his immediate reaction is to want a lower number.

* In the feature length version of ''Film/TheWizardOfSpeedAndTime'', Brian Lucas (no relation) goes to the studio accounting department to get funds to make the Wizard film. There he finds Angus {{McTavish}}, CPA, who tells him to put the P.O. (purchase order) in the IN box, and he might get ''some'' funds released during the next fiscal quarter. {{McTavish}} goes back to scanning over massive paper spreadsheets all over his desk:
-->'''{{McTavish}}:''' Now, where is that nickel!

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': While he doesn't have a typical Scottish accent (he talks like a [[{{UsefulNotes/TheWestCountry}} stereotypical 17th-18th Century pirate]]), [[{{TheBarnum}} Eugene H.]] [[{{MoneyFetish}} Krabs]] otherwise fits the bill here ''EXTREMELY'' well. His fellow crabs at a convention also fit this trope, and they actually compete to see who is the cheapest one of all. Krabs wins by a landslide when he attempts to steal his and [=SpongeBob=]'s hotel room while checking out after being asked to leave. [[{{NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer}} And yes, you did read that correctly, he tried to steal the entire room]].

* Lampshaded in ''Series/TheProfessionals'' episode "Fugitive", when George Cowley reprimands Bodie for supporting "that popular misconception of the Scots. You couldn't find a more generous race." While he's saying this he's refusing to share the sweets he's eating, and it's implied that earlier he used Bodie to pay a [=12p=] fine on his overdue library books (by handing him the books as 'cover' when Bodie had to enter the library).

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': While he doesn't have a typical Scottish accent (he talks like a [[{{UsefulNotes/TheWestCountry}} stereotypical 17th-18th Century pirate]]), [[{{TheBarnum}} Eugene H.]] [[{{MoneyFetish}} Krabs]] otherwise fits the bill here ''EXTREMELY'' well. His fellow crabs at a convention also fit this trope, and they actually compete to see who is the cheapest one of all. Krabs wins by a landslide when he attempts to steal his and SpongeBob's hotel room while checking out after being asked to leave.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': While he doesn't have a typical Scottish accent (he talks like a [[{{UsefulNotes/TheWestCountry}} stereotypical 17th-18th Century pirate]]), Eugene H. Krabs otherwise fits the bill here ''EXTREMELY'' well.

* ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants'': While he doesn't have a typical Scottish accent (he talks like a pirate), Eugene H. Krabs otherwise fits the bill here ''EXTREMELY'' well.