man about town

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noun

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

Nearby words

mampara, mampoer, mamurius, mamzer, man, man about town, man and superman, man boobs, man booker prize, man bun, man cave

Origin of man about town

First recorded in 1775–85

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for man-about-town

“The Wohls really helped him a lot once Joselyn started dating him,” says a man-about-town who knows Parker well.
Partying All the Way to Jail|Peter Davis|December 21, 2009|DAILY BEAST
He was quite the man-about-town of the conversation, while the easy-shaver was the child.
Life And Adventures Of Martin Chuzzlewit|Charles Dickens
He was always a man-about-town, but he and Brian were inseparable.
The Riddle of the Mysterious Light|Mary E. Hanshew
He scorned Joseph; and yet his desire, as a man-about-town, to keep Joseph's esteem, was in no way diminished!
The Regent|E. Arnold Bennett

He was a man-about-town, living, to all appearances, by his wits.
Room Number 3|Anna Katharine Green
George, a man-about-town, would have stared at being called provincial, but a man cannot stare away his nature.
The Country House|John Galsworthy

British Dictionary definitions for man-about-town

man about town

noun

a fashionable sophisticate, esp one in a big city

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Idioms and Phrases with man-about-town

man about town

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.