panhandle
panhandle Lexical Profile
panhandle Game Scores & Validity
• noun
North American A narrow strip of territory projecting from the main, larger area of a state, country, or region, resembling the handle of a pan in shape.
"A severe winter storm swept across the northern Texas panhandle overnight."
The handle of a cooking pan.
"He wrapped a thick towel around the hot cast-iron panhandle before lifting the skillet from the stove."
• verb
North American To ask strangers for money or food in a public place; to beg in the street.
"Local ordinances regulate where individuals may legally panhandle near busy downtown intersections."
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in mid-19th-century American English as a compound of 'pan' and 'handle', originally comparing a narrow, projecting strip of state territory to the handle of a frying pan. The verbal sense of begging on the street emerged later in the 19th century, likely evoking the image of extending one's arm like a panhandle or holding out a tin pan for coins.