parsimonious ˌpär-sə-ˈmō-nē-əs adjective
: excessively unwilling to spend money
_________
The word parsimonious has appeared in 10 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on May 24 in “Kawhi Leonard or Kevin Durant: Who Is Free Agency’s Biggest Prize?” by Michael Powell:
…. The website NBA Miner crunched data and discovered that a basketball player’s prime is 29 years old, that point where physical talent and the ability to see and dissect a game arrive at a handsome crossroads. Many players slip side rather quickly after that and begin the descent into athletic old age.
That might cause a general manager or two to double-clench at the notion of showering hundreds of millions of dollars on Durant, 30. Against that parsimonious impulse, however, we should balance another statistical reality: The very best, those truly worthy of the overused term “superstar,” tend to enjoy longer peaks and far milder downward slopes.
_________
