giver

an Indian giver

A person who asks the return of or takes back a gift after they have given it. One of many expressions often considered offensive for making reference to Native American stereotypes or tropes. I'm sorry to be an Indian giver like this, but I'm afraid I need the $50 back that I gave you last week.
See also: giver, Indian
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

Indian giver

One who takes or demands back one's gift to another, as in Jimmy wanted to take back Dan's birthday present, but Mom said that would make him an Indian giver . This term, now considered offensive, originally alluded to the Native American practice of expecting a gift in return for one that is given. [Colloquial; early 1800s]
See also: giver, Indian
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

Indian giver

Someone who gives a gift and then wants it returned. Native Americans' economy was based on the barter system; therefore, an item that colonists and settlers took to be an outright gift was expected to be reciprocated. When it was not, the giver wanted the item returned. The offensive phrase, which first appeared in mid-18th-century New England, is now rarely used . . . and properly so.
See also: giver, Indian
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price
See also:
  • be on the warpath
  • be/go on the warpath
  • on the warpath, to be/go
  • warpath
  • get a gift
  • scared silly/stiff/to death, to be
  • Run that by one more time
  • dead one
  • my face when
  • my reaction when
References in periodicals archive
Prevalence of depression in primary care givers of disabled combat injured soldiers/ veterans is common but over looked and under estimated.
FREQUENCY OF DEPRESSION AND GENERAL MENTAL HEALTH AMONG PRIMARY CAREGIVERS OF DISABLED PERSONS WITH BLAST INJURIES: A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY
3 Things to Consider about Becoming a Cheerful Giver
What Does It Mean To Be A Cheerful Giver?
We need not say who the givers and who the takers are, the media is exposing the culprits every other day.
Help the needy not the politicians!
We collected text data between advice seekers and advice givers via an online relationship blog, Reddit.com.
"Should I Break Up or Make Up?" A Text Analysis of Online Relationship Advice
Steve "If you can have a dressing room full of givers, then you will be successful.
Cotterill is glad to see 'givers' not 'takers' in Blues squad
Family burden interview schedule (FBIS) [16] was used to assess the extent and pattern of burden on the primary care giver.
Family burden in alcohol dependence: a study in north-eastern India
But when you become a giver, you return the power back to yourself.
How (and why) to give the perfect gift
Psychologist Donna Dawson cautions people from going to the giver and asking them to exchange the item or returning it to them.
Aussies Have To Deal With $520 Million Worth Of Unwanted Christmas Gifts In 2014
Good or bad, at least this makes sense -- and The Giver makes sense in another way too, though it doesn't seem to be aware of it.
Film review: The Giver ***
There is no complete human experience until Jonas is chosen by the Giver to become the next Receiver of Memory and to solely bear the burden of knowing all that has been lost in the past: every memory, every pain, every facet of love.
The Giver
The Giver 97mins12A YOUNG adults impatient for the next instalment of The Hunger Games will find plenty to enjoy in this thriller based on the Lois Lowry novel.
Flick should satisfy your Hunger
It's against this dystopian backdrop that we meet the teenage Jonas (Brenton Thwaites) who's been chosen to be the vaunted Receiver of past memories from the Giver (Jeff Bridges).
THE GIVER Cert 12A, Running [...]
This is a fascinating film with a lot to tackle and almost as much to say, but despite starring the great Meryl Streep (Chief Elder) and Jeff Bridges (The Giver) it doesn't quite blister the paint.
Sci-fi thriller doesn't quite give enough
Lois Lowry's 1994 Newbery Medal-winning young adult novel The Giver, which depicts a dystopian society inhabited by the young Jonas along with his family and friends, has been making its rounds with a new generation of readers and movie-goers since the film adaptation was released to theaters across North America last month.
Introduce a new generation of readers to the giver
The Giver by Lois Lowry, published in 1993, has sold 10 million copies worldwide and is HarperCollins' top-selling children's e-book.
'The Giver' gives its viewers much to ponder: humanity rediscovered