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

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

An ugly customer to get across with, was my verdict.

From The Man Without a Memory by Arthur W. (Arthur Williams) Marchmont

It's an ugly customer the fever, though, Mr Whyte," observed Mr Trace; "and I calculate we ought to do him that pleasure.

From Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine - Volume 54, No. 338, December 1843 by Various

“That dog would be an ugly customer in a fight,” remarked Graham casually, not averse to teasing a barking dog as well as a screaming girl.

From Peggy Raymond's Vacation or Friendly Terrace Transplanted by Harriet L.

But the steward was obliged to attend to the ugly customer opposite him at the table, and he made no reply—a piece of rudeness, however, which he regretted as an absolute necessity.

From Freaks of Fortune or, Half Round the World by Oliver Optic