What does the phrase "the silent imputation of parsimony" mean in The Gift of the Magi by O.Henry?

Question

What does the phrase "the silent imputation of parsimony" mean? It appears in the first paragraph of "The Gift of the Magi," which I've quoted below. > One dollar and eighty-seven cents.That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one's cheeks burned with **the silent imputation of parsimony** that such close dealing implied.

Answer 1

Hi Katherine,

Key to understanding this phrase is understanding "imputation" and "parsimony." Below are the definitions from from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary.

imputation: accusation

parsimony: the quality or state of being stingy

If we substitute the definitions, the new phrase is "the silent accusation of stinginess."

Now go back to the narrator's observation that "one's cheeks burned." What do you think that means? Do you think there is any reason why the narrator tells you that sixty cents of the savings were in pennies? If you put all of these things together, you will understand the author's meaning well.

Enjoy reading O. Henry! This is an interesting short story.