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man-about-town

man-about-town

4 8.1
A man who often goes to restaurants, parties, and the theater for fun
  • noun
  • /mæn əˈbaʊt taʊn/
translation icon : hombre de mundo
  • He was the epitome of what Scarlett considered a sophisticated man about town.

Wasn't I mean, Robert was a, was a, a man about town.

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Examples

  • I am currently a man about town.

  • It's all for the man on the go, the man about town.

  • I'm a man about town.

  • My grandfather was the man about town, as you say, here in England, owned a lot of nightclubs.

  • Anyway, here he is, Toronto's favorite man about town, Mr. Robin Turner.

  • As a man-about-town, he frequented the best restaurants and social events every weekend.

  • Everyone knows him as a man-about-town, always seen at the latest theater openings and parties.

  • Being a man-about-town, he is often invited to exclusive gatherings in the city.

Synonyms

playboy
vsman-about-town
159 6.2

A rich man who spends time having fun, often with many women

is focused on varied social outings across fashionable public places instead
Corinthian
vsman-about-town
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A man who spends money on pleasure and fashion

is more about public fashionable outings than private luxurious lifestyle
gadabout
vsman-about-town
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A person who often goes from place to place for fun

tends to attend fashionable restaurants theaters and parties regularly
boulevardier
vsman-about-town
1 9.9

A man who often spends time on stylish city streets and in cafes and acts socially confident

is more generally socially active across many fashionable venues

Antonyms

8 5.5

A person who likes to stay at home rather than go out

How Social

party animal
  • Informal
8 4.0
socialite
29 6.7
man-about-town
4 8.1
socializer
  • US
1 3.8
homebody
8 5.5

Surface Forms

man-about-town singular

Morphology

man-about-town = man + town (transparent) = about + man + town

The meaning is directly inferable from 'man' + 'about' + 'town' (a man who is about town = socially active and frequently out). [Postprocessing: moved 'about' from base_words to prefix]

Etymology

The phrase man-about-town is literal: it joins man, about and town, with about meaning 'around', to paint a picture of a man who goes 'around the town' to restaurants, theaters and parties. So a man-about-town is a socially active man who is often seen in fashionable places.