Dictionary

slumlady en · NOUN

Etymology

Blend of slum + landlady.

Meanings

1. (derogatory) a female slumlord.
   • We knew we had to move but we wanted to show other people what Mrs. Ballard — a slumlady — was like and what we were doing to file for decent living conditions. With our picket and TV and Radio coverage we told our story to many. 1972, Mountain Life & Work 1972-10: Vol 48 Iss 9, page 22:
   • An interesting game of this type is known as the Slumlord’s Dilemma. Imagine that two slum owners, Slumlady Sally and Slumlord Larry, have adjacent tenements. Each owner knows the following: if both invest in improving their tenements, they will have the nicest low-rent apartments in the city and will earn high returns on their investments (say an extra profit of $5000 each). On the other hand, if, say, Slumlord Larry invests but Slumlady Sally does not, then Larry will lose his shirt but Sally will make out like a bandit. 1984, Lee S. Friedman, Microeconomic Policy Analysis, page 217:
   • Many of the aging will be found in older sections, too, and a good landlady may be a good shepherd as well as a slumlord (or slumlady) 1965, Charles Abrams, The City is the Frontier, page 317:

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