novelty shop
1
3.3
- noun
- /ˈnɑːvəlti ʃɑːp/
:
tienda de artículos curiosos
- Until John settled on a career path, he worked a stupid job at a novelty shop and spent most of his time and energy volunteering for the Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
Examples
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All the novelty shops and souvenir shops were brightly lit.
Fiction book (1995) -
Last Saturday, we visited a quirky novelty shop that sells funny gifts and unusual trinkets.
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My true calling in life is to open up my very own joke and novelty shop.
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It's from novelty shop Archie McPhee.
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They have also been found at a wide variety of other outlets, including novelty shops and convenience stores.
Blog text (1) -
Let's all go to the novelty shop, get some glue-on mustaches, take our picture, then hang it upside down in an appropriate place.
Blog text (27) -
One of a million allegedly humorous vulgarities on sale at every novelty shop and amusement park in America.
Fiction book (1996) -
When the next invitation and ticket arrived, I dressed him in my trench coat and blue pinstripe, and I went to a novelty shop and bought a makeup kit.
Fiction book (1994) -
We sat out on a patio where we ate and watched the tourists with their cameras parading by and gawking at the architecture, the novelty shops, and restaurants.
Fiction book (1995) -
I found the perfect birthday present at the local novelty shop, a talking pen that makes everyone laugh.
Synonyms
50
1.0
A shop at a museum or tourist place that sells souvenirs and small presents
How Specialized
- US
6
2.8
75
4.4
1
3.3
50
1.0
80
1.0
16
2.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a shop that sells novelty items' is directly derivable from combining 'novelty' (small, showy gift items) with 'shop' (a place to buy goods). This noun+noun compositional pattern is common and cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would very likely infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Novelty shop comes from novelty meaning 'new or unusual' and shop meaning 'store'. Picture a small shop full of new, funny little things that surprise you, and that's why the phrase means a shop that sells unusual or amusing 'gifts'.