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

Chamberlain an ugly customer to tackle when at bay.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 93, July 23, 1887. by Various

“That Tom Dinass is an ugly customer if he’s put out.”

From Sappers and Miners The Flood beneath the Sea by Hurst, Hal

He was not long in finding the vine in question an ugly customer.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 18, No. 109, November, 1866 by Various

His colour is of a dirty blue-black, and altogether he is a very ugly customer, as the unfortunate tiger usually finds.

From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 61, No. 377, March 1847 by Various

At length, however, she discovered that an ugly customer was near her, and lost no time in setting every stitch of canvas she could carry, and running directly off before the wind.

From Hurricane Hurry by Kingston, William Henry Giles