Dictionary.com
definitions

end man

noun
  1. a man at one end of a row or line.
  2. a man at either end of the line of performers of a minstrel troupe, who plays on the bones or tambourine and carries on humorous dialogue with the interlocutor.

Origin of end man

An Americanism dating back to 1860–65
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for end man

Historical Examples of end man

  • He had joined a minstrel show somewhere and had become an "end-man."

    Twelve Men

    Theodore Dreiser