panhandle

¹

[pan-han-dl]

noun

1. the handle of a pan.

2. (sometimes initial capital letter),  a long, narrow, projecting strip of territory that is not a peninsula, especially such a part of a specified state.

   the panhandle of Alaska; the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles.

panhandle

²

[pan-han-dl]

verb (used without object)

panhandled, panhandling 

1. to accost passers-by on the street, riders on the subway, motorists stopped at red lights, etc., and beg from them.

verb (used with object)

panhandled, panhandling 

1. to accost and beg from.

2. to obtain by accosting and begging from someone.

panhandle

¹

/ ˈpænˌhændəl /

noun

1. (sometimes capital) (in the US) a narrow strip of land that projects from one state into another

2. (in a South African city) a plot of land without street frontage

panhandle

²

/ ˈpænˌhændəl /

verb

1. informal,  to accost and beg from (passers-by), esp on the street

Other Word Forms

• panhandler noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of panhandle¹

First recorded in 1855–60; pan ¹ + handle

Origin of panhandle²

An Americanism first recorded in 1885–90; so called from the resemblance of the extended arm to a panhandle ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of panhandle¹

C19: probably a back formation from panhandler a person who begs with a pan

Example Sentences

The opening scene, for instance, sees Mike panhandling on a busy street and completely being ignored by passersby.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Mike gathers himself, shushes the woman for waking him and then collects his belongings to begin a day of panhandling.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Since June 2024, almost 220 local measures have passed that restrict or ban acts like sleeping, sitting or panhandling in public in cities that include Phoenix; Gainesville, Florida, and Reno, Nevada.

Read more on Salon

The other, in Florida's panhandle region, will determine a replacement for Matt Gaetz, the firebrand congressman Trump originally picked to be attorney general before he withdrew under a cloud of sexual misconduct and ethics allegations.

Read more on BBC

By Tuesday afternoon, the storm moved into Georgia, Florida's panhandle, and North and South Carolina.

Read more on BBC