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parlor house

American  

noun

  1. (especially in the 19th and early 20th centuries) a brothel with a comfortable, often elaborately decorated parlor for the reception of clients.

Etymology

Origin of parlor house

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Similarly, business is procured through the same agents utilized by the parlor house—runners, bartenders, cabmen and chauffeurs.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.