A tender, premium cut of beef or pork from the interior loin area of an animal, or a district known for corruption and vice.
Compound of 'tender' (soft, from Latin 'tenere') and 'loin' (from Old French 'loigne'). The cut became named for its exceptional tenderness. The slang term for corrupt city districts emerged in 19th-century America.
The term 'tenderloin district' was originally slang used by corrupt cops who could extort and bribe more money there—they called it the 'tenderloin' because it was where they could really 'feast!' This dark pun reveals how criminals often develop their own coded language.
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