bowling alley
53
2.7
- noun
- /ˈboʊlɪŋ ˈæli/
:
bolera
- The new bowling alley in town has glow-in-the-dark lanes.
- go to a bowling alley
- lane in a bowling alley
- pins at the bowling alley
We were at one of those wild nights that we used to inexplicably have at the bowling alley in Astoria.
- We were at one of those wild nights that we used to inexplicably have at the bowling alley in Astoria.
- What actually happened is she invited her friends to a party which was at a bowling alley, a private venue in London.
- So I walked back in the bowling alley and that was the beginning of me becoming a gang member.
- They're all different width of those bowling alleys, OK?
- My structure are my bumpers in the bowling alley to make sure they don't roll a gutter ball.
- Bowling with my buddies at the bowling alley and I'm not some pins down.
- Jane told me when he was a young man that he went to the bowling alley and people replaced the pens by hand.
Examples
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We pour into the bowling alley, teaming up to play a series or two.
Fiction book (2000) -
We were at one of those wild nights that we used to inexplicably have at the bowling alley in Astoria.
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l met him at a bowling alley.
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Many of our residents like to go to the movies or the library or the bowling alley.
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I'll be in the bowling alley.
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Well, we had some French fries at the bowling alley.
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And I'm happy to report that the family trip to the bowling alley did not disappoint.
Blog text (21) -
Narrator 1: Minutes later, Kenny and the President are in the White House bowling alley, discussing the Zimmer bill.
Fiction book (2000) -
Ten thousand square foot garages, indoor swimming pools, private bowling alleys.
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The Dude's face is washed with a brilliant light as the corridor opens onto a gleaming bowling alley.
Fiction book (1998)
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is directly compositional: 'bowling' names the game and 'alley' denotes a lane/place, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer it is the place with lanes where bowling is played. This simple noun+noun compound follows transparent, cross-linguistic logic and requires no idiomatic or metaphorical knowledge.
Etymology
Bowling alley comes from the simple image of a long, narrow alley where people roll bowling balls down a lane. So it means 'a place or building with lanes where people play the game of bowling'.