priestess of Venus

English

Noun

priestess of Venus (plural priestesses of Venus)

1. (euphemistic, dated) Synonym of prostitute.
   • 1891, John Lockwood Kipling, Beast and Man in India, p. 214:

     Many of the palki gāris used as hack cabs in Calcutta and other large towns, owned by speculators who know nothing of their business, including liquor-sellers, table-servants, and even priestesses of Venus retired from business, are drawn by scarecrows that recall in a reduced and shadowy form the outlines of Bewick's grim woodcut,—"Waiting for death." But the mercy of death is denied to them.

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see priestess,‎ of,‎ Venus.