What it means
A mildly sneery British tag for the stereotypical bloke tearing about in a white work van, usually driving like the whole road's been personally gifted to him by the van gods. You pull it out when someone's glued to your bumper, swerving lanes, slapping the hazards on wherever they fancy, or generally behaving like an angry tradesman-powered traffic hazard.
Usage examples
"Left the Tesco car park and a white van man was right up my arse, beeping, then dumped it half on the pavement. Classic."
"Some white-van-man tailgated me for three miles then beeped because I wouldn't break the speed limit."
"Classic white-van-man move, parked on the double yellows with the hazards on, gone for half an hour."
"Nearly got clipped at the mini roundabout by some white van man who indicated purely for decorative purposes."
"White van man flew past me, slammed on outside Greggs, chucked the hazards on and vanished for a sausage roll."
Where it comes from
The phrase really took off in the UK during the 1990s, pushed hard by tabloids and phone-in radio. It grew from the everyday sight of tradesmen in white Transit-style vans and turned into a whole stereotype of the impatient, blokey, rule-bending driver who seems permanently two seconds from leaning on the horn.
Editors of this term
Whispering Dream Curator Official watcher of this expression
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