clip joint
1
9.9
- noun
- Archaic
:
establishmento engañoso
- Many tourists complain about being ripped off at the local clip joint that serves overpriced drinks and poor entertainment.
Examples
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She's a drink hustler in a clip joint.
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Last night, we realized that the club we visited was just another clip joint charging outrageous prices for terrible drinks.
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So it's a clip joint.
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I'm sick of these clip joints.
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Don't mention that clip joint to me.
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I checked every clip joint from Houston to San Antonio... and now I found her.
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By the way, they knocked over that clip joint, the Club Regal.
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And he ran a traveling clip joint, and he took the faithful, that's all, he just took them.
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This is eine kleine clip joint.
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Aren't we good enough for your old man's clip-joint?
How Honest
- Specialized
10
6.6
- Archaic
1
9.9
- Informal
31
7.2
- Informal
5
4.2
Surface Forms
Morphology
clip + joint
The sense 'a bar where customers are cheated or overcharged' cannot be derived from the common B1 meanings of the parts: 'joint' as an informal bar is transparent but 'clip' (commonly 'cut' or 'attach') does not convey swindling to an average learner. This is a slang/idiomatic compound whose cheating sense is historical and language-specific, so its overall meaning is not predictable from its constituents.
Etymology
Clip joint comes from a simple image: clip used to mean taking a quick small 'cut' of someone's money and joint meant a place like a bar or club, so the spot literally 'clips' your cash. That's why a clip joint means a bar or club that 'cheats' or 'overcharges' customers.