panhandle

¹ American  

[pan-han-dl] / ˈpænˌhæn dl /

noun

1. the handle of a pan.

2. (sometimes initial capital letter) a long, narrow, projecting strip of territory that is not a peninsula, especially such a part of a specified state.

   the panhandle of Alaska; the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles.

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panhandle ² American  

[pan-han-dl] / ˈpænˌhæn dl /

verb (used without object)

panhandled, panhandling

1. to accost passers-by on the street, riders on the subway, motorists stopped at red lights, etc., and beg from them.

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verb (used with object)

panhandled, panhandling

1. to accost and beg from.

2. to obtain by accosting and begging from someone.

panhandle ¹ British  

/ ˈpænˌhændəl /

noun

1. (sometimes capital) (in the US) a narrow strip of land that projects from one state into another

2. (in a South African city) a plot of land without street frontage

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panhandle ² British  

/ ˈpænˌhændəl /

verb

1. informal to accost and beg from (passers-by), esp on the street

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Other Word Forms

• panhandler
  noun

Etymology

Origin of panhandle¹

First recorded in 1855–60; pan ¹ + handle

Origin of panhandle²

An Americanism first recorded in 1885–90; so called from the resemblance of the extended arm to a panhandle ¹

Explanation

To panhandle is to beg for money outside, on a public street. Someone who needs money to buy a bus ticket home might panhandle. When people panhandle, they ask passers-by for cash. A man who's lost his job might panhandle so he can get something to eat. and a college student might panhandle on a busy street for money to buy a ticket to a concert. Panhandle is also a noun meaning a long, thin geographical area that's shaped like the handle of a frying pan. Both meanings date from the mid-19th century.

Example Sentences

Oil discoveries in the 1920s brought thousands to the rural Texas Panhandle in fast-growing communities that sometimes defied the rule of law.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026

A former world kickboxing champion who came to the Palisades from the Florida Panhandle in 1982, Blanck has sparred with boxing champion Sugar Ray Leonard.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 3, 2025

Tony Gene Broxton, a former fire department bookkeeper from the Florida Panhandle, was indicted in 2013 on federal charges of theft of public money and making false statements.

From Salon • Nov. 13, 2025

Is building nuclear reactors in the Texas Panhandle the best way to meet growing demand for electricity?

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 4, 2025

It sticks its big old Panhandle up north and it slops and slouches along the Rio Grande.

From "Travels with Charley in Search of America" by John Steinbeck