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

See Examples For:

ugly customer

Bernardo is an ugly customer, and he is probably very bitter over the defeat of his forces and the collapse of the revolution.

From Two Boys of the Battleship or For the Honor of Uncle Sam by Frank V. Webster

Cuhullin was an ugly customer to meet with; and, the idea of the "cake" aforesaid flattened the very heart within him.

From Celtic Folk and Fairy Tales by Various

“She will prove an ugly customer to deal with, depend on it.”

From Fred Markham in Russia The Boy Travellers in the Land of the Czar by R. T. Landells

Cucullin was an ugly customer, no doubt, to meet with; and, moreover, the idea of the confounded "cake" aforesaid flattened the very heart within him.

From Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry by W. B. (William Butler) Yeats

"That 'u'd be a ugly customer to meet on a dark road," he said, holding it up for the others to see.

From Westerfelt by Will N. (William Nathaniel) Harben