peterman
Americannoun
plural
petermennoun
Etymology
Origin of peterman
1805–15; peter a safe or cash box, originally a portmanteau or trunk, as an object to be stolen or rifled (of obscure origin) + -man
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I knew about it—got it from a peterman who has studied safes and all that sort of thing.
From The Ear in the Wall by Reeve, Arthur B. (Arthur Benjamin)
And the dobbel peterman flowed into their stomachs as if it had been a cataract falling down from some lofty mountain.
From The Legend of the Glorious Adventures of Tyl Ulenspiegel in the land of Flanders and elsewhere by Coster, Charles de
As a peterman he was a loud ha-ha; as a damper-getter he was just an amateur; as a heel or a houseman, well, them things were just outside him.
From Black Jack by Brand, Max
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
