toxic bachelor
(TAWKS.ik bach.uh.lur)
n.
An unmarried man who is selfish, insensitive, and afraid of commitment.
Example Citation:
I hope no one gave you The Rules for Christmas, girls, because I'm afraid that the idea that men could be brought to heel, like dogs, is completely over. There is a triumphalist whiff of testosterone in the air — the toxic bachelor, formerly known as the cad, the rake, the bounder and the ladykiller, is back in town.
—Jane Campbell, "Watch out ladies — the toxic bachelor is coming to town," Independent on Sunday, January 6, 2002
Earliest Citation:
Carrie's brother Peter (John Barrowman) is an attorney whose glamor-boy aura and family mystique obscures his professional achievements. His best friend, Gil Chase (Justin Lazard), is a sleazy, love-'em-and-leave-'em stockbroker, accurately described in the pilot as a "toxic bachelor."
—Gene Seymour, "New York City gets its own prime-time soap, 'Central Park West.'," Newsday, September 3, 1995
Notes:
This phrase was coined by Candace Bushnell in one of her original "Sex and the City" columns for the New York Observer in the mid-90s.
