panhandler

[ pan-hand-ler ]

noun

1. 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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of panhandler¹

First recorded in 1890–95; panhandle ² + -er ¹( def )

Example Sentences

Perhaps in response to the panhandler, perhaps not, a teenage girl sitting nearby thanks me for my service.

From The Daily Beast

This is not what the panhandler wishes to hear and she continues through the subway car.

From The Daily Beast

Obedient to the young woman's request, the panhandler waited.

From Project Gutenberg

Nothing, however, seemed further from the panhandler's thoughts than flight.

From Project Gutenberg

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.

From Project Gutenberg

It struck her, too, that despite his panhandler's manner this man was yet in a fashion different.

From Project Gutenberg

You're nose gets as red as a rear light on an automobile or the beak of a Park Row panhandler.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• beggar
• mendicant