shebeen
1
9.9
- noun
- /ʃəˈbiːn/
- South African
:
shebeen
- But the most important part of understanding came through years of sitting at the kitchen table, at the shebeen table, drinking endless cups of tea and bottles of beer, immersed in the river of stories that sweeps friends, family, and neighbors, along with a multitude of strangers more distant, through life.
Afro Caribbean was was, you know, people who were mainly in the area and you know, drug drugs were freely available in such places as Shebeens.
- Afro Caribbean was was, you know, people who were mainly in the area and you know, drug drugs were freely available in such places as Shebeens.
Examples
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Two pounds went for drinks in the shebeen, where Mulholland found you.
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I thought that most shebeen queens were informers.
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How long has shebeen in there?
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I know some comrades who, on the night they leave, just go to a club or a shebeen.
Fiction book (1996) -
Listen, you're in front of Aunt Betty's, the finest shebeen in town, and your little Katie is inside.
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"The Sounds of the City" presents the urban social music of the township shebeens, backroom bars, and dance halls that spawned Marabi and other precursors of South African jazz.
Academic text (1995) -
A shebeen on a packing case displayed litre bottles of beer and half-jacks of brandy, and before this altar, a man still crazed from the drinking of the night danced around her to mbaqanga music coming from the stallholder's cassette player.
Fiction book (1994) -
After a long day, we decided to unwind at the local shebeen for a few drinks.
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Many people gather at the shebeen to enjoy live music and socialize with friends.
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The neighborhood shebeen was buzzing with laughter and conversation late into the night.
Synonyms
Antonyms
How Legal
- Formal
16
3.8
- UK
111
3.5
14
9.3
- South African
1
9.9
Surface Forms
Etymology
The word shebeen comes from the Irish word síbín, which meant an 'illegal or home-made drink' and the small houses where people drank it. So a shebeen today is an unlicensed or informal bar, a hidden place to drink and meet, a meaning that moved from Ireland to places like South Africa.