Indian giver

English

Etymology

See Indian giving.

Noun

Indian giver (plural Indian givers)

  1. (informal, offensive) A person who demands the return of or takes back something which he or she has previously given.
    • 1920, Peter B. Kyne, chapter 41, in Kindred of the Dust:
      Mark me, he'll never take those bonds. . . . He gave them to you and he's not an Indian giver."
    • 2001, Jon Ippolito, "Whatever Happened to the Gift Economy?" Leonardo, vol. 34, no. 2, p. 159,
      He was labeled an "Indian giver"—someone who gives a gift only to ask for it back.

Translations
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