Magdalene laundry

Magdalene laundry means: A religious facility in which prostitutes and unmarried mothers were kept, usually against their will, as a source of forced labour to launder clothes.. The word is mostly archaic or historical; you will only encounter it in old texts, period drama, or school history rather than current teen conversation. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour.

Magdalene laundry means: A religious facility in which prostitutes and unmarried mothers were kept, usually against their will, as a source of forced labour to launder clothes.. Register: informal, Irish English. Often not understood outside its region; gloss the word on first use when writing for an international audience. A common learner mistake is using the word in a register it does not fit, or assuming a single global meaning; native speakers immediately notice when slang appears in formal contexts, so always check the surrounding register before producing it yourself.