paper hanger

paper hanger

One who writes bad or dishonored checks, especially out of habit or as a criminal profession. Sometimes hyphenated. Apparently there's been a paper hanger passing through the state, depositing bad checks on Fridays and then skipping town before the banks are open on Monday. He was a paper-hanger for a while back in college. Nothing too serious, mostly just did it to pay for groceries or school supplies when he was low on cash.
See also: hanger, paper
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

paper-hanger

n. someone who tries to pass bad checks. (see also paper, paper-pusher.) He’s wanted as a paper-hanger in four states.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • muckety muck
  • in demand
  • bowler hat (one) out (of something or some place)
  • bleeding edge
  • cop on
  • hit and miss
  • hit or miss
  • hit-and-miss
  • crater
  • crater face
References in periodicals archive
He was also a self employed painter and paper hanger.
Raymond E. Quimby, Sr., 80
As for real-world experience, he's also a father of five with a schedule that could make the proverbial one-armed paper hanger in a windstorm look like a slacker.
Eating well, losing weight is a family affair, doctor says
Olfa knives are super-sturdy and have been the go-to cutting tool for paper hangers and painters for years.
'Olfa good' knives
Originally designed and signalled for 600 or 700 trains per day, the two signalmen on duty on my last visit were working like one-armed paper hangers fitting over 1,300 trains a day into cramped and crowded platforms.
Forget a 'facelift' and build a new station; Lord Peter Snape, former Labour MP for West Bromwich East, ex-railway signalman and one-time chairman of Travel West Midlands, hits out at "ludicrous" plans for Birmingham's New Street Statio
A mechanic who tries to install a new rear soft door on a HMMWV by himself has a lot in common with one-armed paper hangers. Mainly, he doesn't have enough hands to do the job right!
Do away with draggin' doors
* Natural Guild of Professional Paper Hangers, Chicago: (312) 429-0920.
More than a pretty face
And specialist work has been carried out by real craftsmen including stone cutters from Derbyshire and Italy and paper hangers from London who have worked at Windsor Castle.
Residential Property: Enhanced Georgian elegance