panhandlers
Sidewalk spare-changers
Panhandlers are people who beg for money in public places, typically on sidewalks or street corners.
The term comes from the image of holding out a pan to collect coins.
Panhandling usually involves direct solicitation from passersby: Panhandlers congregated near the subway entrance.
The word carries a slightly dismissive tone compared to simply calling someone homeless or a beggar.
Earnest desperate requesting
- almsGifts to the destitute
- spare changeExtra coins on hand
- handoutFree distribution to recipients
- pleaFormal request or defense
signs · cardboard · cup · donation · coins · asking · approach · intersection
Without a dwelling
- destitutionExtreme poverty, lacking necessities
- povertySevere lack of resources
- hungerNeed for nourishment
- desperationUtter loss of hope
survival · struggling · displaced · shelter · addiction · mental illness · unemployment · veterans
Mark of dishonor
- avoidanceDeliberate keeping away
- eye contactDirect visual connection
- ignoreRefuse to notice
- compassionConcern for others' distress
charity · judgment · ordinance · criminalization · outreach · services · intervention · empathy
Paved pedestrian pathway
- downtownCentral business district
- streetcornerJunction of two roads
- subwayUnderground transit passage
- overpassBridge spanning a road
freeway exit · storefront · plaza · pedestrians · commuters · tourists · cityscape · metro
begging
Earnest desperate requesting
- almsGifts to the destitute
- spare changeExtra coins on hand
- handoutFree distribution to recipients
plea · signs · cardboard · cup · donation · coins · asking · approach · intersection · offramp
homeless
Without a dwelling
- destitutionExtreme poverty, lacking necessities
- povertySevere lack of resources
- hungerNeed for nourishment
desperation · survival · struggling · displaced · shelter · addiction · mental illness · unemployment · veterans · downtrodden
stigma
Mark of dishonor
- avoidanceDeliberate keeping away
- eye contactDirect visual connection
- ignoreRefuse to notice
compassion · charity · judgment · ordinance · criminalization · outreach · services · intervention · empathy · dignity
sidewalk
Paved pedestrian pathway
- downtownCentral business district
- streetcornerJunction of two roads
- subwayUnderground transit passage
overpass · freeway exit · storefront · plaza · pedestrians · commuters · tourists · cityscape · metro · bench
- homelessnesshomeless, homeless shelters, unhoused, homeless veterans, houseless
- povertypoverty line, poor, poverty rate, impoverished, generational poverty
- outcastsoutcast, pariah, pariahs, outcasts, outlaws
- pedestrianspedestrians, walkers, walking, passersby, foot traffic
- streetsstreet, road, sidewalk, sidewalks, pavement
- urban nuisanceslitter, noise, traffic, trash, garbage
panhandlersmillionaires
People worth seven figures
billionaires · the rich · tycoons · moguls · plutocrats
panhandlersdonors
People who give gifts
givers · philanthropists · almsgivers · benefactors · contributors
panhandlersbuskers
Public space entertainers
street performers · street vendors · merchants · vendors · service providers
- Florida PanhandleNorthwest coastal strip of state
- Texas PanhandleNorthernmost Texas region