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bean counter

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bean counter

Where it comes from

Probably from German Erbsenzähler (literally “pea counter”).

noun bean counters · bean-counter · beancounter

  1. derogatory, idiomatic, mildly A person who is excessively interested in controlling or reducing expenses, increasing profits, or in quantitative details in general. As any good bean counter will tell you, it costs money to treat people at a hospital.

Translations

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noun person excessively interested in expenses and quantitative details

DeutschErbsenzähler, Erbsenzählerin

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MLA

"bean counter." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/bean%20counter. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

bean counter. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/bean%20counter

Chicago

"bean counter." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/bean%20counter.

BibTeX
@misc{bean_counter_2026,
  title = {bean counter},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/bean%20counter},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}