panhandler

[ pan-hand-ler ]

noun

a person who accosts passers-by on the street, riders on the subway, motorists stopped at red lights, etc., and begs from them: A panhandler used to stop me every morning outside this coffee shop, asking me for spare change.

Origin of panhandler

First recorded in 1890–95; panhandle² + -er¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Perhaps in response to the panhandler, perhaps not, a teenage girl sitting nearby thanks me for my service.
A Night Along the Military-Civilian Divide: An Iraq Vet in New York | Matt Gallagher | April 30, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
This is not what the panhandler wishes to hear and she continues through the subway car.
A Night Along the Military-Civilian Divide: An Iraq Vet in New York | Matt Gallagher | April 30, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Obedient to the young woman's request, the panhandler waited.
From Place to Place | Irvin S. Cobb
Nothing, however, seemed further from the panhandler's thoughts than flight.
From Place to Place | Irvin S. Cobb
The kind of walk you adopt when you want to pretend you can't see a panhandler, or don't want to get involved in a street-fight.
Little Brother | Cory Doctorow

It struck her, too, that despite his panhandler's manner this man was yet in a fashion different.
Destiny | Charles Neville Buck
You're nose gets as red as a rear light on an automobile or the beak of a Park Row panhandler.
Love Letters of a Rookie to Julie | Barney Stone

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