soda fountain
3
2.8
- noun
- /ˈsoʊdə ˈfaʊntən/
- Archaic
:
fuente de soda
- Shopping malls have replaced yesteryear's soda fountains and drive-ins as the teen hangouts of the 1990s.
- an old-fashioned soda fountain
- a drugstore soda fountain
- a pharmacy soda fountain
Examples
-
Along with Selena's Sandwich Shoppe, which served breakfast all day, there was a pharmacy at whose soda fountain the best raspberry lime rickeys in the Commonwealth could be had, as well as a hardware store that offered everything from nails to velveteen.
Fiction book (2001) -
To the immediate right was the old-fashioned drugstore and soda fountain.
Fiction book (1992) -
When I was a kid, this was a soda fountain.
-
One time I came in during the daytime, and I went to the soda fountain to get a Coke.
-
After completing his business with the owner, he would stop at the soda fountain and have a chocolate ice cream soda.
Academic text (2009) -
The soda fountain doesn't open till noon.
-
One store had a soda fountain, sold stuffed animals and Mickey Mouse watches, among other items.
Blog text (24) -
So May Anna went to work after school as a waitress at the Pepsin Drugstore soda fountain, but that didn't bring in much.
Fiction book (1990) -
Restaurants with self-serve soda fountains will be restricted to giving out 16-ounce cups, but free refills will still be allowed.
Blog text (14) -
Alma and I went to the soda fountain after school to enjoy ice cream and drinks.
How Fizzy
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound combines 'soda' (a carbonated drink) with 'fountain' (a dispensing installation), so a learner can reasonably infer it refers to a place or device that dispenses sodas and similar treats. The extension to a counter or small shop is a predictable and common use of 'fountain' in commercial contexts, making the meaning compositionally transparent to B1 learners who know both words.
Etymology
Soda fountain may come from old shops where fizzy soda was poured from a tall spout that looked like a small fountain into glasses at a counter. So the name came to mean 'a counter or small shop where sodas, ice cream, and similar drinks or treats are made and served'.