Standard Lemma guide

scarlet-collar

adj · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

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Pronunciation

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1

adj

Meaning 1

Of or pertaining to female entrepreneurs in the Internet sex industry.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Examples

  • 1995, Nadine Strossen, Defending Pornography: Free Speech, Sex and the Fight for Women's Rights, Scribner (1995), p. 190, Given the relatively high pay, many 'scarlet collar workers' make an economically rational choice to enter the sex industry rather than to pursue more socially acceptable, but less remunerative, work.
  • 2000 August 13, Now, cybersex industry, in The Tribune, Chandigarh, India, The Tribune House (2000), editorial page, The new 'Scarlet collar' worker is typically a 25 to 35-year-old former prostitute or lap dancer with young children and a desire to better her income while working from home.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From the color traditionally associated with adultery, combined with the word collar in imitation of similar constructs such as blue-collar and white-collar.