not have a bean

not have a bean

To have very little or no money; to be very poor. He didn't have a bean during college, and he's been something of a penny-pincher ever since.
See also: bean, have, not
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

not have a bean

Be destitute or penniless, as in He doesn't have a bean, but she's set on marrying him. Bean has been a slang term for a guinea or a sovereign coin since the early 1800s. The precise expression was first recorded in 1928.
See also: bean, have, not
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.

not have a bean

BRITISH, OLD-FASHIONED
If you do not have a bean, you have no money. Note: In the following expressions, `bean' means money. It's quite incredible to think that he now hasn't got a bean. When we married we hadn't a bean so we bought all our furniture second-hand.
See also: bean, have, not
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

not have a bean

be penniless. informal
Bean was an early 19th-century slang term for a golden guinea or sovereign. In the sense of ‘a coin’, it now survives only in this phrase.
See also: bean, have, not
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • like water
  • spend money like water
  • not a bean
  • not have a penny
  • not have a penny to (one's) name
  • not have a penny to your name
  • have (something) to (one's) name
  • have something to your name
  • have to your name
  • nickel nurser