ugly customer

American  

noun

1. a hostile or dangerous person.

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ugly customer Idioms  

1. An ill-natured or vicious individual, as in Watch out for Charlie when he's drinking; he can be an ugly customer. This phrase uses ugly in the sense of “mean” or “dangerous.” [c. 1800]

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Etymology

Origin of ugly customer

First recorded in 1805–15

Example Sentences

He was very roughly dressed on the day of the raid, and in every sense of the word he looked like an "ugly customer."

From The Strange Story of Harper's Ferry With Legends of the Surrounding Country by Barry, Joseph

Bernardo is an ugly customer, and he is probably very bitter over the defeat of his forces and the collapse of the revolution.

From Two Boys of the Battleship or For the Honor of Uncle Sam by Webster, Frank V.

It is a fine specimen of the New England variety of the Felis concolor and would no doubt have proved an ugly customer to meet on a dark night.

From A Busy Year at the Old Squire's by Stephens, C. A. (Charles Asbury)

Mr. Shark, who is an ugly customer, had been cruising in the neighbourhood, and had taken a morsel out of an American swimmer a little time before.

From Romantic Spain A Record of Personal Experiences (Vol. II) by O'Shea, John Augustus

He knew Bad Bill was an ugly customer when he once got started.

From Crooked Trails and Straight by Hutchison, D. C.