have one's hand out

present singular third person has one's hand out · participle present having one's hand out · participle past had one's hand out · past had one's hand out

1. idiomaticTo request benefits, especially monetary ones and especially if not entitled to them.

   Whenever there was an appropriations bill, he always had his hand out for his guys.

   3 more examples

   Mr. Lombardo told him Union City “was probably the most graft‐ridden community in New Jersey—everybody had their hand out.”

   1978 March 31, Joseph F. Sullivan, “Witness Says He Heard of Plotting To Tie Senator Musto to Gamblers”, in New York Times, retrieved 27 Nov 2016

   "Everybody wanted my money. Everybody had their hand out."

   2015 February 14, Selena Maranjian, “Winning Lottery Numbers: What a Curse”, in Seattle Post-Intelligencer, retrieved 27 Nov 2016

   Chung described Ashe as a predator, seeking money at every turn. “He had his hand out constantly,” she said.

   2016 July 29, Larry Neumeister, “Woman in UN bribery scandal gets 20 months in prison”, in Washington Post, retrieved 27 Nov 2016