"spa" = 'neighborhood grocery store', aka 'convenience store'?

[Laurence Horn]

At 3:39 PM -0500 3/1/11, Victor Steinbok wrote:
>Unless you actually know of a specific location, searching is not easy.
>Most of the items that come up are "health&beauty" salons (mostly "Day
>Spa") that might include massages, manicures and facials--no water
>treatment. You will find in Western Mass and on Cape Cod quite a number
>of resorts that go by Spa.

And then there are the "day spars", as in this plaintive query:

Im growing to a spar and im wondering will i have to take my lip stud
out for the facial because i cant.

--There's also the "La Tour Day Spar" (in Oakland, but closed), the
1st Encounter corporate day spar (in Devon, England),

"Hi guys this is me at at a beauty day spar by prettyp80, on Flickr"
(http://www.flickr.com/photos/29809459@N05/2853227632/ if you're interested)
etc. etc.

LH

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org