The gift of the magi

One dollar and eighty-seven cents.That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies. Pennies saved one and two at a time by bulldozing the grocer and the vegetable man and the butcher until one's cheeks burned with the silent imputation of parsimony that such close dealing implied.

bulldoze ：恫吓，在这里实际就是激烈的讨价还价 a hard bargain
imputation：accusation 指控
parsimony：extreme stinginess 小气，吝啬
close dealing: face to face negotiation

mendicancy-squad: 贫民窟 police who arrested beggars and homeless people
powder rag: 粉饼
sterling ：优秀很棒的东西