come-on

noun

Etymology: Deverbal from come on to. First use appears c. 1897, in the publications of Edward W. Townsend. See cite below.

1. Something intended to attract, as in an advertisement.

   “The free offers are just come-ons to get you in the store so the sales staff can work on you.”

   “He's got a come-on from New Jersey that I'm to steer to the turning joint.”

2. A statement or sometimes an action reflecting sexual or romantic interest.

   “I thought he'd asked me to lunch to discuss business; I wasn't expecting a come-on.”

   “I come looking for a job But I get no offers Just a come-on from the whores on Seventh Avenue”

3. A bad actor whose talents do not extend far beyond walking onto the stage.

   “When the public no longer rushed to the box-office to buy such synthetic exaltations of the spirit, pitchmen like Jerome K. Jerome and the aforesaid Kennedy got out their theopathic apparatus and had at the trade with elixirs in which actors, their faces chalked into a pallor exceeding Nicky Arnstein's, were programmed as A Stranger, A Wayfarer, or Manson and, by conducting themselves for the major portion of two hours like overly verbose and objectionable pallbearers, peculiarly persuaded the come-ons that they were replicas of Christ and that the rest of the cast, a bunch of low-lifes, were converted to the faith by them.”