Green’s Dictionary of Slang

(US) a womanizer.

1913

N.Y. Times 10 Apr. 6: ‘One of the disgusting features about these dances seems to me to be the activity of old men who are old enough to be the fathers of the young girls with whom they dance, and the no less pernicious activity of the young men who assume the role of orchid crushers. I don’t know whether your readers will know what I mean by “orchid crushers,” but—’ and the Dean [...] intimated that they were a distinctly undesirable element in the community.