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 was a man about town, excitedly touting the letters and statements of “immense enthusiasm” from elected officials.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 28, 2023

Gwendolen also comes recommended by one of Nellie’s children, oldest son Niven, a James Bond-ish man about town.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 5, 2022

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

Why, I wondered, had Bob Brackenbury, so essentially a man about town, come there to consult a Baptist missionary, and accompanied, too, by the man he was scheming to unmask?

From Spies of the Kaiser Plotting the Downfall of England by Le Queux, William