second-story man
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of second-story man
First recorded in 1900–05
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A woman catches a second-story man in her house, engages him in conversation, gives him a drink to get his fingerprints.
From Time Magazine Archive
Mr. Peters, indeed, specifically described the Earl of Emsworth as an oily old second-story man.
From Something New by P. G. (Pelham Grenville) Wodehouse
“Besides,” he said peaceably, “I’m all dressed up pretty now, and it doesn’t look right for a respectable member of society to be pulling off second-story man stunts.”
From The Bandbox by Louis Joseph Vance
Twice a day, during the last ten days, the wiry little ferret-faced second-story man had got away with at least one can from the prison commissary.
From O. Henry Memorial Award Prize Stories of 1921 by Edison Marshall
Also that second-story man was indicted that stole Alderman Big Bill Perkins’s clothes.
From Counsel for the Defense by Charles M. Chapman
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
