shebeen

American  

[shuh-been] / ʃəˈbin /

noun

Scot., Irish English, South African.

1. a tavern or house where liquor is sold illegally.

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shebeen British  

/ ʃɪˈbiːn /

noun

1. a place where alcoholic drink is sold illegally

2. (in Ireland) alcohol, esp home-distilled whiskey, sold without a licence

3. (in South Africa) a place where Black African men engage in social drinking

4. (in the US and Ireland) weak beer

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Etymology

Origin of shebeen

1780–90; < Irish síbín illicit whiskey, place where such whiskey is sold (ellipsis from teach síbín shebeen house), originally, a unit of measure < English chopin

Example Sentences

The stage had been converted into something like a shebeen: a pub, an African juke joint, with plastic crates for seats and lanterns for lighting.

From New York Times

Mahlasela recorded it by putting on a concert of South African oldies in the street where her shebeen was.

From New York Times

Throughout Africa and the African diaspora, black bars tend to serve as more than hangouts, be they the shebeens of South Africa or the juke joints of the Mississippi Delta.

From Seattle Times

I was eating a corned beef sandwich in an Irish bar in Brooklyn, a quiet shebeen with excellent service and food that was reliably terrible.

From New York Times

Skin’s first real exposure to music was through the shebeens her grandad would throw – however, the last time she labelled his parties as such in an interview, she got in trouble with her mum.

From The Guardian