Boweryish

/ˈbaʊərɪʃ/ adjective

Definition

Resembling or characteristic of the Bowery neighborhood in New York City; rough, rowdy, or having the crude manners typical of poor urban areas.

Etymology

From 'Bowery,' the historically working-class and notorious neighborhood in lower Manhattan, plus '-ish' (making an adjective meaning 'like or resembling').

Kelly Says

The Bowery was New York's first slum, famous for crime, vice, and poverty in the 1800s-1900s, so 'boweryish' became shorthand for rough urban seediness—it's a rare geographic adjective that captures an entire social era.

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