panhandler
Use Panhandler in a sentence
dl verb (used without object)
1.
to accost passers-by on the street and beg from them.
verb (used with object)
2.
to accost and beg from.
3.
to obtain by accosting and begging from someone.
Origin:
1895–1900, Americanism; back formation from panhandler; so called from the resemblance of the extended arm to a panhandle1
1895–1900, Americanism; back formation from panhandler; so called from the resemblance of the extended arm to a panhandle1
Related forms
pan·han·dler, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source
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Link To panhandler
00:10
Panhandler
is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
| the offspring of a zebra and a donkey. |
| a gadget; dingus; thingumbob. |
Collins
World English Dictionary
panhandle1 (ˈpænˌhændəl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | (sometimes capital) (in the US) a narrow strip of land that projects from one state into another |
| 2. | (in a South African city) a plot of land without street frontage |
| panhandle2 (ˈpænˌhændəl) | |
| —vb | |
| informal (US), (Canadian) to accost and beg from (passers-by), esp on the street | |
| [C19: probably a back formation from panhandler a person who begs with a pan] | |
| 'panhandler2 | |
| —n | |
| panhandle2 (ˈpænˌhændəl) | |
| —vb | |
| informal (US), (Canadian) to accost and beg from (passers-by), esp on the street | |
| [C19: probably a back formation from panhandler a person who begs with a pan] | |
| 'panhandler2 | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
panhandle
"something resembling the handle of a pan," 1851, especially in ref. to geography, originally Amer.Eng., 1856, in ref. to West Virginia (Florida, Texas, Idaho, Oklahoma also have them). Meaning "an act of begging" is attested from 1849, perhaps from notion of arm stuck out like a panhandle; verb panhandle
"to beg" is from 1903.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
The police later arrest the panhandler after running a warrant check during a subsequent encounter.
The decision to give to a panhandler is purely an individual decision.
Most of these were roadside panhandler bear-related injuries.
Tells how he bought a handmade sign from a homeless panhandler.
Nearby Words
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