panhandle

¹ American  

[pan-han-dl] / ˈpænˌhæn 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 American  

[pan-han-dl] / ˈpænˌhæn dl /

verb (used without object)

panhandled, panhandling

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)

panhandled, panhandling

1. to accost and beg from.

2. to obtain by accosting and begging from someone.

panhandle ¹ British  

/ 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

---

panhandle ² British  

/ ˈpænˌhændəl /

verb

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

---

Other Word Forms

• panhandler noun

Etymology

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

Example Sentences

Smith of Franklin County, Fla., in the state’s panhandle, initially criticized ICE officers for not communicating with local law enforcement but said he has since opened a dialogue with them.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 27, 2026

Bentley: The first thing that comes to mind is the writing trip we took up to the Idaho panhandle — where the story was set and where the book was written.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 5, 2026

In the age of artificial intelligence, it turns out that owning 5,700 acres of land in the Texas panhandle can outweigh having no revenue to speak of.

From Barron's • Oct. 27, 2025

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 • Sep. 26, 2024

That afternoon, Cade Hernandez and I traversed the desolate panhandle of Texas and crossed over the line into Oklahoma.

From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith