'Lounge lizard' then became a generalized term applying to any frequenter of nightclubs. 7, There is at least a tinge of truth in that picture of Southern England as one enormous Brighton inhabited by lounge-lizards. 1937, George Orwell, The Road to Wigan Pier, ch. Eventually, the lounge lizard as social parasite decided to play chameleon and take on many appearances. lounge lizards) (Jazz-age or flapper slang) An idler or pleasure-seeker a person who spends considerable time loitering in bars and cocktail lounges. Charles Plymell has written that Robert Branaman coined the phrase in the 1950s (Wichita, Kansas) in regards to those people that spend an excessive amount of time going from bar to bar. It has also been suggested that the name derives in part from the 'lizards', that is, shoes made from crocodile or snakeskin, that were sometimes sported by such men, but there is no solid evidence of this. The term presumably owes something to the cold and insinuating quality of reptiles. A 'lounge lizard' is typically depicted as a well-dressed man who frequents the establishments in which the rich gather with the intention of seducing a wealthy woman with his flattery and deceptive charm.

Since its first appearance as American slang in 1917, 'lounge lizard' has surprisingly shown up in nearly every decade. The term lounge lizard is usually used to refer to lounge musicians, most often in a negative sense (as tacky, tasteless, etc.). For other uses, see Lounge lizard (disambiguation).

Lounge lizard definition