Houses & Housing Slang, Jargon, and New Words from Double-Tongued Dictionary

Citations in the Category Houses & Housing

Homes, apartments, rentals, mortgages, real estate, realtors, land, renting, leases, renovation, etc. You can also see entries assigned to this category.

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abandon-minium n. These women would for the most part end up sleeping in their cars or what they would refer to as “Abandon-miniums” (abandoned homes). [English Houses & Housing Slang] [full cite] (Nov. 2, 2006)

alligator n. In the coming months, I predict we’ll see an increase in people dumping real estate they can’t afford. They’ll be forced to sell because they’ll be eaten alive by a phenomenon known as negative cash flow. Investment properties that you have to feed money to every month are fondly known as alligators—if you can’t afford to feed the property every month, it eats you. [English Houses & Housing Money & Finance Slang] [full cite] (Oct. 15, 2006)

aparthotel n. Also known as condotels or aparthotels, condo hotels have been growing in popularity as an approach to owning a luxurious second home in a great vacation destination. [English Architecture Houses & Housing] [full cite] (Jun. 19, 2006)

apartment therapist n. He refers to a home as “a living organism” and describes broken chairs and dripping faucets as “wounds.” He implores you to consider wearing “house shoes” and burn only naturally fragrant candles. But this gentler touch is making a difference in the lives of city dwellers crammed into small apartments. It prompted one client to gratefully refer to the designer as her “apartment therapist.” [English Houses & Housing] [full cite] (Oct. 4, 2006)

arctic shell n. Although there are no strict definitions, “cold shells” are generally facilities where tenants may have to install bathrooms, elevators and air conditioning. But that’s not as bad as an “arctic shell,” which doesn’t have much more than a roof and exterior walls. A “warm shell” at least has bathrooms and elevators. “Tropical shells” offer amenities beyond that. [English Construction & Buildings Houses & Housing Slang] [full cite] (Jul. 16, 2007)

Arizona room n. She wanted to convert her carport into a garage and then she wanted to transform her covered patio into what’s called an Arizona room. [English Houses & Housing] [full cite] (Jan. 19, 2007)

au pair unit n. In Colleyville, owners can buy a small, adjacent room, often called a “mother-in-law unit” or “au pair unit.” Some town houses in Bedford and North Richland Hills have front porches. [English Houses & Housing] [full cite] (Jul. 11, 2006)

balloon construction n. It took 40 minutes to chase down all the hot spots as the fire traveled through walls that had no fire breaks, Kaplan said. He said the house was built with a method called “balloon construction” in which there is only open space between the walls, allowing the fire to spread easily. [English Construction & Buildings Houses & Housing] [full cite] (Aug. 25, 2007)

balloon-frame n. These dwellings are called balloon frames because of the light feel and voluminous space created by the vertical studs that run from the ground to the roof line. A balloon-frame house is one in which the exterior timber frame constitutes the main structural component of the house. These barn-like buildings often were constructed in just days. Yet many of them still endure more than 120 years later. [English Construction & Buildings Houses & Housing] [full cite] (Jul. 27, 2007)

Barbie n. Fortunately, Brits can take advantage of the weak dollar in a different way, said Stephen Adams in Britain’s Daily Telegraph. Instead of vacationing in the States, we are buying investment homes there. The new army of “Barbies”—from BARB, the term for those who Buy Abroad but Rent in Britain—has targeted the cheap property flooding the American market as a result of the mortgage crisis. [Houses & Housing New or Nonce Slang Acronym] [full cite] (Apr. 15, 2008)

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