barbary coast

noun

1. the Mediterranean coastline of the former Barbary States: former pirate refuge.
2. the waterfront district of San Francisco in the 19th century, notorious for its cheap bars and nightclubs, prostitutes, gambling houses, and high incidence of crime.

noun

1. the Barbary Coast a historic name for the Mediterranean coast of North Africa: a centre of piracy against European shipping from the 16th to the 19th centuries