Haymarket ware

A reference to the prostitution that was common in Haymarket area of London in the United Kingdom in the early 19th century.

Haymarket ware (uncountable)

1. (dated, British slang) A prostitute, especially a low-class, on-street prostitute.
   • 1956, Heyer, Georgette, Sprig Muslin:

     You take the advice of a man who’s older than you, my boy, and has seen more of the world than you ever will! If she ain't Haymarket ware, hedge off!

   • 1985, Pyatt, Rosina, To Catch an Earl:

     Who was she, then, this girl? Or rather, what was she? An actress? A piece of Haymarket ware paid to alter her profession temporarily? If so, she was a most delectable item of merchandise.

   • 1995, Lady Alex's Gamble:

     "Women!" Christopher fumed. "They are nothing but vain parasites, every one of them after attention, wealth, or a title, or all three, and the worst of their sex are those in the ton. Give me honest Haymarket-ware anytime. At least with them you know what you are getting into. They only exact payment for services rendered, not for a lifetime […] "

   • 2004, Bancroft, Blair, The Harem Bride:

     She looked like Haymarket ware. A veritable trollop. Good God, she had chosen something Mrs. Daphne Coleraine might wear!

   • 2011, Barbour, Anne, Escapades:

     Melody's velvet gray eyes were transformed instantly into boiling little infernos of fury. "How dare you, sir! Do you think me Haymarket ware?"

• See Thesaurus:prostitute

• Bankside lady, City Road African, Covent Garden nun, Drury Lane vestal, Essex girl, Fleet Street dove, Fulham virgin, St. John's Wood vestal

• Farmer, John Stephen (1893) Slang and Its Analogues‎, volume 3, page 283