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Red-Light District

Posted by ESC on September 07, 2000

In Reply to: What is the origin of the phrase "Red Light District"? posted by Dillon on September 07, 2000

: Does anyone know where and when the phrase "red light district" originated?
: Can you tell me when the phrase was first used in print?
: Any help is greatly appreciated!!

"RED-LIGHT DISTRICT -- Brothels once advertised their presence by burning electric lights covered with red shades or glass in their windows. This led to the Americanism 'red-light district' for an area know for its houses of prostitution, the term first recorded in the late 19th century." From Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins by Robert Hendrickson (Fact on File, New York, 1997).

Listening to America: An Illustrated History of Words and Phrases from Our Lively and Splendid Past by Stuart Berg Flexner (Simon and Schuster, New York, 1982) states that the practice dates back even before electric lights -- red shades were used over lamps and candles. Mr. Flexner says the term was first used in the 1890s.

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