man about town

American  

noun

1. a socially active, sophisticated man who frequents fashionable nightclubs, theaters, restaurants, etc.; playboy; boulevardier.

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man about town British  

noun

1. a fashionable sophisticate, esp one in a big city

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man about town Idioms  

1. A man who frequently attends fashionable social functions, as in Fred is quite the man about town these days. This expression, first recorded in 1734, uses town in the sense of “a sophisticated place” as opposed to rural settings.

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Etymology

Origin of man about town

First recorded in 1775–85

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

man about town

There was a cameo by the Italian-born man about town who had introduced Donald Trump to a model named Melania Knauss, the future first lady.

From Seattle Times ● May 7, 2022

He's not exactly a man about town, so there's not much known about his food and drink choices.

From Salon ● Nov. 19, 2021

Frusciante: I stopped going out to clubs and trying to be a man about town.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2021

The gaggle of strangers had been invited on Twitter by Jeremy O. Harris, the “Slave Play” playwright and man about town, to watch the film “Zola.”

From New York Times ● Jul. 15, 2021

New York, in particular, finding her impersonation of the up-to-date young man about town very much to its liking.

From Famous Prima Donnas by Strang, Lewis Clinton