panhandler
11
7.4
- noun
- /ˈpænˌhændlər/
- US
:
mendigo
- The panhandler on the corner of Main Street asked me for spare change.
- give change to panhandlers
Examples
-
Phyllis gives a panhandler a $20 bill.
Academic text (1991) -
Come with Nick into the alleys and on the streets, past the drunks and panhandlers and prostitutes into the pool rooms and the bars.
-
We move past the panhandler and toward the front door of the shop.
Fiction book (1993) -
In front of the door stands a panhandler with a sign in hand.
Fiction book (1993) -
All you gotta do is ask any panhandler on Broadway.
-
At 2 p.m., a panhandler with a sign on S. Main St. was warned.
Blog text (17) -
But they will miss the panhandlers and maybe the odd police encounter.
Blog text (30) -
Of the 27 "frequent fixture" panhandlers, the security guards designated only four of them as aggressive.
Blog text (31) -
The people strolling by had had their fill of panhandlers, and most either ignored them or were mildly rude.
Fiction book (1990) -
"Hi." Julia says hello to everyone and anyone, from the most supercilious Zabar's shopper to the seediest panhandler.
Fiction book (1994)
Synonyms
77
1.0
A person who asks others for money or food
16
9.9
An old word for a person who begs for food or money
1
9.9
A person who lives by begging for money or food
A man who asks people for money or food on the street
A woman who asks people for money or food in public places
Antonyms
How Dependent
- Offensive
27
6.1
- Offensive
1
7.6
- Offensive
1
9.9
77
1.0
- US
11
7.4
- Formal
5
8.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
The word panhandler comes from the sight of someone holding out a pan or their hand to collect coins. So a panhandler 'asks for money' directly from people in public.