What does "spanger" mean?

beggar, one who uses the phrase “spare change?”

What is a synonym for "spanger"?

Common synonyms include: beggar.

Pronounced //ˈspeɪnd͡ʒɚ//.

//ˈspeɪnd͡ʒɚ// noun, slang

noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level

Noun

1
beggar, one who uses the phrase “spare change?” US, derogatory, slang
"I squatted down on the sidewalk to get eye level with the spanger (someone who asks passerbys for spare change)."

"I squatted down on the sidewalk to get eye level with the spanger (someone who asks passerbys for spare change)."

From spange + -er (“person who does”), root blend of spare + change, from stereotyped phrase “spare change?”, “spare any change?”.

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