charity mugger
- noun
- /ˈtʃɛrɪti ˈmʌɡər/
- Offensive
:
recaudador agresivo de fondos
- The charity mugger blocked my path, trying to get me to sign up for a monthly donation.
Examples
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At the shopping mall, a charity mugger aggressively solicited donations, making many shoppers uncomfortable.
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After several encounters with charity muggers, Jane started avoiding the city center.
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Many people find charity muggers intrusive when they are just trying to go about their day.
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I saw a charity mugger outside the supermarket.
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Many charity muggers approach people in busy areas.
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While walking through the park, I was approached by a charity mugger who asked for donations to save endangered animals.
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The charity mugger stood at the corner, holding a clipboard and urging passersby to contribute to the local food bank.
Synonyms
1
8.9
A person who asks people in public to give money to charity
How Aggressive
Surface Forms
Morphology
charity + mugger
The phrase combines transparent parts — 'charity' (donations) and 'mugger' (one who robs) — so a learner will sense an aggressive/person-targeting sense, but the conventional meaning ('an aggressive solicitor of donations') is a figurative extension rather than a literal robber. Because the intended sense relies on a metaphorical use of 'mugger' and can be misleading without exposure, the expression is only partially predictable to a B1 learner.
Etymology
Charity mugger comes from combining charity and mugger to create a strong picture: a mugger is a street robber who grabs people, and some people who ask for donations stop and push passersby in a similar way. So, the phrase means 'a person who aggressively asks for donations'.