throw nickels around like manhole covers

See throw money around. A manhole cover is large, heavy, and not easily thrown.

throw nickels around like manhole covers (third-person singular simple present throws nickels around like manhole covers, present participle throwing nickels around like manhole covers, simple past threw nickels around like manhole covers, past participle thrown nickels around like manhole covers)

1. (Canada, US, colloquial, humorous) To be very stingy; to be reluctant to part with money.