spaza shop
Britishnoun
Etymology
Origin of spaza shop
from township slang: dummy, camouflaged
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Her store of choice is a spaza shop - the term for a small informal outlet - in her township of Diepsloot.
From BBC • Oct. 10, 2023
Although unemployment among South Africans ages 15 to 34 is 37.5%, young Somali refugees find work quickly, usually by working in a spaza shop – a convenience store that sells basic groceries – owned by another Somali.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 7, 2016
Three spaza shop owners in the township told Reuters they could no longer afford rent and would consider moving to Johannesburg if the strike continued for much longer.
From Reuters • Apr. 4, 2014
Daniel Waza, a convenience store or "spaza shop" owner, sits on empty brown boxes in the middle of his small shop where fresh fruits and vegetables used to be.
From Reuters • Apr. 4, 2014
The spaza shop was locked, and though empty of people, it was actually well supplied with soft drinks, biscuits, beer, toiletries and paraffin.
From New York Times • Jun. 2, 2011
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
