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Widow’s man vs Widow-man

widow’s man —(hist.) a fictitious seaman on a ship’s papers, whose pay was credited to a widows’ pension fund:

  • I went everywhere about the ship…. At last, one of them answered that it was no use looking for him as Cheeks was a widow’s man.

widow-mana widower:

  • Her father came here soon after she was born, a widow-man with only her.