Chicago-born slang for a brothel or bordello. 'Can house' was part of the city's early 20th-century underworld vocabulary, where shady establishments needed discreet labels. The term sits in the same murky drawer as 'house of ill repute' and 'disorderly house' — euphemisms that let people refer to the business without spelling it out. Rarely heard today outside of historical crime writing or Chicago blues lyrics, but it captures the blunt poetic genius of old-school American street talk.
The detective's case file was full of addresses — saloons, gambling dens, and at least one can house on the south side.
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(US, mainly Chicago, slang) A brothel, bordello.
“The new navigation center can house 80 people, and their pets, for short-term stays to get them off the street.”
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