jook joint
- noun
- /dʒuːk dʒɔɪnt/
- Archaic
- On Saturday night, the local jook joint comes alive with music and people dancing.
Examples
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We visited a local jook joint last night.
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During their road trip through Mississippi, they stopped at a famous jook joint for dinner and dancing.
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Many blues musicians got their start performing at jook joints in the South.
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The band played late into the night at the local jook joint.
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Have you ever eaten at a jook joint?
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Everyone gathered at the jook joint to enjoy some good food and live blues music.
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The old jook joint has been serving the community for decades, providing a place to relax and celebrate.
Synonyms
An informal place like a bar or club
A small roadside bar where people eat, drink, and dance to a jukebox
A small informal place in the southern United States where people eat, drink, and dance to blues from a jukebox
A cheap bar or dance hall where people dance to country music
A small roadside bar in the southern United States with music and dancing
A small informal place where people eat, drink, and dance to jukebox music
A small place in the southern United States where people eat, drink, and dance to jukebox music
How Lively
Surface Forms
Morphology
Both constituents refer to informal venues — 'jook' (a small music/drinking/dancing spot) and 'joint' (an informal bar or club) — so the compound simply reinforces that sense. Although 'jook' is regionally and culturally specific, the meaning of 'jook joint' is compositionally derivable from its parts, so a learner who knows both words can infer the overall sense.
Etymology
The noun jook joint comes from the Southern word jook, which meant rough, lively dancing, and joint, meaning a simple bar or place. One popular story says these were small, noisy spots with food, drink, a jukebox and dancing, so today jook joint means 'a small lively place with music and dancing'.