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

He rose from humble pastoral beginnings to become a man about town in an industry where Black people weren’t afforded such prominent positions.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 16, 2023

According to Carroll, she crossed paths with Trump at Bergdorf Goodman sometime in 1995 or 1996, when he was a real estate mogul and man about town.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 22, 2023

Nathaniel Parker Willis, the famous writer, editor of the weekly newspaper the Home Journal, and man about town, had taken Catherine into his home when she first separated from Forrest.

From Slate • May 27, 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

Know, then, that I am a minister no longer—that illusion is past—that I am now a writer for the press and a man about town.’

From Crying for the Light, Vol. 1 [of 3] or Fifty Years Ago by Ritchie, J. Ewing (James Ewing)