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You are here: Home / Language / Why Are Women Called “Broads”, What Does the Word Mean, and Where Did the Nickname Come From?

Why Are Women Called “Broads”, What Does the Word Mean, and Where Did the Nickname Come From?

July 17, 2020 by Karen Hill

In the eighteenth century, poker cards were called broads because they were wider than those used for other card games.

Around 1912, because they resembled poker cards, tickets of admission, meal tickets, and transit tickets were being called “broads.”

By 1914, because they were a different kind of “meal ticket,” pimps began calling their prostitutes “broads.”

Soon the term entered the underworld and was eventually picked up by entertainers.

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Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « How Did the Baby Ruth Chocolate Bar, the Tootsie Roll, and Hershey’s Kisses Get Their Names?
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