mutton dressed as lamb a middle-aged or old woman dressed in a style suitable for a much younger woman. British informal
☞ Mutton occurs in various derogatory contexts relating to women. It has been used as a slang term for prostitutes from the early 16th century, for example, while the phrase hawk your mutton means 'flaunt your sexual attractiveness' or (of a prostitute) 'solicit for clients'.
1988Salman RushdieThe Satanic Verses Mutton dressed as lamb, fifty plus and batting her eyelashes like an eighteen-year-old.