Flashman

noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A slick salesman or spin doctor.

    "A flashman just naturally tried to promote and show- off his company at every opportunity. Wasn't that what sales-PR was all about? Even the police departments engaged flashmen."

  2. 2
    A pimp. obsolete

    "Are not your favourite friends horn-boys and flashmen —"

  3. 3
    A woman's boyfriend. obsolete

    "Her flashman, in her estimation, is ten times handsomer, certainly more acceptable."

  4. 4
    Someone who distracts the target of a thief; a confidence trickster. obsolete

    ""Stop your jaw, or I'll stop it for you, and teach you another time to know a gentleman from a flashman.""

Example

More examples

"A flashman just naturally tried to promote and show- off his company at every opportunity. Wasn't that what sales-PR was all about? Even the police departments engaged flashmen."

Etymology

From flash + -man.

Related phrases

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.