Meaning of mean streets | Babel Free

Definitions

A district or set of locales in which there is a high incidence of poverty, crime, disrepair, antisocial behavior, or other adverse conditions.

plural, plural-normally

Examples

“Mr Squeers began to thrust his head out of the window every half-minute, and to bawl a variety of directions to the coachman; and after passing, with some difficulty, through several mean⟳ streets which the appearance of the houses and the bad state of the road denoted to have⟳ been recently built, Mr Squeers suddenly tugged at the check string with all his might, and cried, 'Stop⟳!'”

“While it is not a city of slums, as some people imagine⟳, it may well be said to be one gigantic slum. From the standpoint of simple decency and clean⟳ manhood and womanhood, any mean⟳ street, of all its mean⟳ streets, is a slum.”

“Expectant dog 'Lucky' lived up to her name⟳ when a Blackburn woman came to her rescue⟳ after being abandoned on the mean⟳ streets of Manchester.”

“In the early 1980s,[…] I was a reporter at The Philadelphia Inquirer trying to act fearless covering the mean⟳ streets of a city with more mean⟳ ones than perhaps any in America.”

“The city deserves a failing grade for waste⟳ bins. […] [W]e’ve noticed an increasing number⟳ that are missing plastic side panels, exposing the metal framework and furthering our conclusion that they aren't tough enough for Toronto's mean⟳ streets.”

““New York City used to be known for our mean⟳ streets, but, going forward⟳, we’re going to be known for our clean⟳ streets,” Adams said in June.”

CEFR level