panhandle

¹

[ pan-han-dl ]

noun

1. the handle of a pan.
2. (sometimes initial capital letter) a long, narrow, projecting strip of territory that is not a peninsula, especially such a part of a specified state:

   the panhandle of Alaska; the Texas and Oklahoma panhandles.

panhandle

²

[ pan-han-dl ]

verb (used without object)

, pan·han·dled, pan·han·dling.

1. to accost passers-by on the street, riders on the subway, motorists stopped at red lights, etc., and beg from them.

verb (used with object)

, pan·han·dled, pan·han·dling.

1. to accost and beg from.
2. to obtain by accosting and begging from someone.

panhandle

¹

/ ˈpænˌhændəl /

verb

1. informal.
   to accost and beg from (passers-by), esp on the street

panhandle

²

/ ˈpænˌhændəl /

noun

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

Derived Forms

• ˈpanˌhandler, noun

Other Words From

• pan·han·dler noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of panhandle¹

First recorded in 1855–60; pan ¹ + handle

Origin of panhandle²

An Americanism first recorded in 1885–90; so called from the resemblance of the extended arm to a panhandle ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of panhandle¹

C19: probably a back formation from panhandler a person who begs with a pan

Example Sentences

Police calls were up and so were resident complaints about panhandling.

From Los Angeles Times

His farm was destroyed once before, during Hurricane Michael, a category five hurricane that hit the Florida panhandle in 2018, and Mr Gregg said he is determined to learn from that lesson.

From BBC

When I see people panhandling, I don’t give them spare change, or even a dollar; I give them a five or a ten or a twenty — and a kind word.

From Los Angeles Times

In hindsight, Turley wished he had made more of the migrating geese that congregate in the panhandle each winter and spring.

From Salon

Kacsmaryk is the sole district court judge in Amarillo — a city in the Texas panhandle — ensuring that all cases filed there land in front of him.

From Seattle Times