Synonyms for panhandling
- bum
- cadge
- freeload
- hustle
- mooch
- scrounge
- sponge
- ask alms
- hit up
- hold out one's hand
- live hand to mouth
- pass the hat
- solicit charity
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Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the
Philip Lief Group.
WORD ORIGIN
"something resembling the handle of a pan," 1851, from pan (n.) + handle (n.). Especially in reference to geography, originally American English, from 1856, in reference to Virginia (now West Virginia; Florida, Texas, Idaho, Oklahoma, and Alaska also have them). Meaning "an act of begging" is attested from 1849, perhaps from notion of arm stuck out like a panhandle, or of one who handles a (beggar's) pan.
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the
Philip Lief Group.