(countable, derogatory) A dilapidated neighborhood where many people live in a state of poverty.
I saw that most of those who were spending from eight to fifteen pounds monthly had the advantage of scholarships. I had before me examples of much simpler living. I came across a fair number of poor students living more humbly than I. One of them was staying in the slums in a room at two shillings a week and living on two pence worth of cocoa and bread per meal from Lockhart's cheap Cocoa Rooms.
(slang, uncountable) Inexpensive trinkets awarded as prizes in a carnival game.
verb
(intransitive) To visit a neighborhood of a status below one's own.
(intransitive, UK, slang, dated) To saunter about in a disreputable manner.