Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A street beggar.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun One who panhandles; an urban beggar who typically stands on a street with an outstretched container in hand, begging for loose change.
  • noun A bum.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a beggar who approaches strangers asking for money

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Obscure. Speculative. Panhandling always seems to involve a container for receiving loose change, so perhaps referring to a small, handled pan or to the container as the pan and the arm[s] holding it as the handle.

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Examples

  • Does anyone know where the term panhandler comes from?

    deseretnews.com - Top Stories 2010

  • Does anyone know where the term panhandler comes from?

    deseretnews.com - Top Stories 2010

  • This fellow has been around for a long time - a gringo "panhandler" - I was amazed the first time I saw him and tried to find out more about him but failed.

    I saw a Gringo begging today 2009

  • This fellow has been around for a long time - a gringo "panhandler" - I was amazed the first time I saw him and tried to find out more about him but failed.

    I saw a Gringo begging today 2009

  • This fellow has been around for a long time - a gringo "panhandler" - I was amazed the first time I saw him and tried to find out more about him but failed.

    I saw a Gringo begging today 2009

  • This fellow has been around for a long time - a gringo "panhandler" - I was amazed the first time I saw him and tried to find out more about him but failed.

    I saw a Gringo begging today 2009

  • This fellow has been around for a long time - a gringo "panhandler" - I was amazed the first time I saw him and tried to find out more about him but failed.

    I saw a Gringo begging today 2009

  • This fellow has been around for a long time - a gringo "panhandler" - I was amazed the first time I saw him and tried to find out more about him but failed.

    I saw a Gringo begging today 2009

  • This fellow has been around for a long time - a gringo "panhandler" - I was amazed the first time I saw him and tried to find out more about him but failed.

    I saw a Gringo begging today 2009

  • This fellow has been around for a long time - a gringo "panhandler" - I was amazed the first time I saw him and tried to find out more about him but failed.

    I saw a Gringo begging today 2009

Comments

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  • One of my favorite stores in NYC, a kitchenware store, is called "Broadway Panhandler". Only today I looked up the word.

    May 10, 2011