Victorian & Edwardian · insult · noun
masher
MASH-er /ˈmæʃə(ɹ)/pronunciation given by a dictionary
First recorded1872
A dandified man who fancies himself irresistible and forces his attentions on women, especially strangers in public; also, more loosely, a fashionable young man about town. American slang of the 1870s; it was already appearing in British print by 1875 and became a London catchword in the early 1880s.
Where it was first recorded
New York World, 1872, per the current OED; the earliest British use in Green's Dictionary of Slang is the Dundee Courier, 22 July 1875.
Related: mash (verb, 'to flirt with; to make a conquest of')
In its own time
He had a weakness to be considered a regular masher of female hearts and a very wicked young man with the fair sex generally, but there was not a well-authenticated instance of his ever having broken a heart in his life, nor likely to be one.
Today
Modern exampleHe strolled the pier like an old-time masher, tipping his hat at anyone who would look.
Usable today as a period word for a pest who pesters women; it reads as historical or humorous.
Describes street harassment; use it to name the behaviour, not to make light of it.
Questions
What does masher mean?
A dandified man who fancies himself irresistible and forces his attentions on women, especially strangers in public; also, more loosely, a fashionable young man about town. American slang of the 1870s; it was already appearing in British print by 1875 and became a London catchword in the early 1880s.
When was masher first used?
It is first recorded 1872 — New York World, 1872, per the current OED; the earliest British use in Green's Dictionary of Slang is the Dundee Courier, 22 July 1875.
Can you still use masher today?
Usable today as a period word for a pest who pesters women; it reads as historical or humorous.
Sources
- masher — Online Etymology Dictionary
- masher, n. — Green's Dictionary of Slang
- masher — Merriam-Webster
- Passing English of the Victorian Era (1909), s.v. Mashers' corners — J. Redding Ware (archive.org)
- masher — Wiktionary
- masher (current OED, earliest evidence) — Oxford English Dictionary
Checked 2026-09-30 · verdict: attested — found in the dictionaries and texts listed above