Because spendthrift contains the word thrift, which on its own means frugal or wise with money, some writers mistakenly assume a spendthrift is someone who is frugal or careful with money—for example:
Working at night (and being too much of a spendthrift to get a DVR), seeing prime-time shows on first run usually aren’t an option. [Shelby Star]
But spendthrift means the opposite. A spendthrift is defined as one who spends money recklessly or wastefully. In Middle English, where spendthrift originates, thrift meant well-being or prosperity, so spendthrift literally translates in modern English to spend prosperity. In other words, a spendthrift is someone who spends what he or she has.
Here are some examples of spendthrift well:
Frugal Germans initially balked at bailing out what they see as spendthrift Greeks. [Christian Science Monitor]
He scoffed at the notion that Google would become a spendthrift now that it’s thriving again. [AP]
But the manager himself has promised a policy of prudence rather than a return to the club’s former spendthrift ways. [Sunday Sun]
These examples demonstrate that spendthrift can be used both as an adjective (first and third examples) and as a noun (second example).
