welfare mother

American  

noun

1. the mother of dependent children who receives government welfare benefits.

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Etymology

Origin of welfare mother

First recorded in 1970–75

Example Sentences

Ruby Duncan, a self-described "welfare mother" on Las Vegas's Westside, was incensed.

From Salon

But the actress has tackled her share of tough-gal roles before, including the Baltimore police officer Beadie Russell on “The Wire” and the hardened welfare mother in “Gone Baby Gone,” which earned her an Oscar nomination.

From New York Times

Said Perry, “Let her hear you up in heaven” as clips from “Julia,” “Dynasty,” the film “Claudine,” where she played a welfare mother, and other moments from her career played on a screen.

From Los Angeles Times

“I was in classes reading ‘The Other America’ and ‘Pedagogy of the Oppressed’ while I’m a welfare mother at Harvard,” she said.

From Washington Post

“It is a battle between the poor blacks and the rich employers. It is a battle between the artists and the censors. It is a battle between the Black Panthers and the police. It is a battle between the welfare mother and the bureaucracy of the city, and surprisingly enough it encompasses the yearly battle between the taxpayer and the Internal Revenue Service.”

From Washington Post