to buttonhole a person
Preserved but no longer current.
To detain him in] conversation; to apprehend, as, "to take) fortune by the button." The allusion is to at custom, now discontinued, of holding a> person by the button or buttonhole in con-1* versation. The French have the same locution : Serrer le bouton (a quelqu'un).
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to buttonhole a person” mean?
To detain him in] conversation; to apprehend, as, "to take) fortune by the button." The allusion is to at custom, now discontinued, of holding a> person by the button or buttonhole in con-1* versation. The French have the same locution : Serrer le bouton (a quelqu'un).
Is “to buttonhole a person” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.