Coffeehouse?!

[Benjamin Barrett]

Googling on

"coffee shop" amsterdam

shows that the location offering cannabis is a very popular use.

BB

On Jan 10, 2012, at 2:37 PM, Victor Steinbok wrote:

> Sorry--"coffee shop" is the formal designation for Dutch suppliers, but
> "coffee house" is heard occasionally from the customers (or potential
> customers). "Coffee-shop" as listed under "coffee" in OED also lacks
> this definition.
>
>     VS-)
>
> On 1/10/2012 5:35 PM, Victor Steinbok wrote:
>> Although the OED definition does not exclude it, the Dutch use of
>> "coffeehouse" to mean "an officially sanctioned supplier of legal
>> cannabis" does not appear (of course, they were not around in 1876).
>> There is also an occasional use of "coffeehouse" to represent an
>> organized but informal gathering where musical performance is featured
>> (usually guitar-based or other "folk" music). In neither instance is
>> coffee served or featured in any other way.
>>
>>    VS-)
>>
>> On 1/10/2012 4:39 PM, Benjamin Barrett wrote:
>>> Grammar Girl decides to use "coffeehouse"
>>> (http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/hyphens-in-compound-words.aspx)
>>> while I'm like "What?" She claims that different dictionaries
>>> variously hyphenate, open or close this compound.
>>>
>>> Sure enough, Wiktionary gives the open and hyphenated forms as
>>> alternatives to "coffeehouse"
>>> (http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/coffeehouse) and the AHD has the open
>>> form as an alternative to "coffeehouse"
>>> (http://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=coffeehouse&submit.x=0&submit.y=0).
>>> My Mac spell checker doesn't mind the closed form.
>>>
>>> The Mac dictionary has the closed form and provides the Wikipedia
>>> article that is also closed.
>>>
>>> The OED has citations only through 1876; all but one are hyphenated.
>>> (Also, the OED definition and comment are also outdated.)
>>>
>>> I don't see myself using the hyphenated or closed form soon, but, to
>>> coin a phrase, YouNeverKnow.
>>>
>>> Benjamin Barrett
>>> Seattle, WA

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