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Definition of "shebeen" []

  • An unlicensed drinking establishment, especially in Ireland, Scotland, and South Africa. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "shebeen" in a sentence
  • "The bar, called a shebeen in the townships, is one of the places where young, black gays don't have to hide who they are, where they can talk openly, and find companionship and a safe haven in an often hostile township."
  • "He was prudent enough to avoid placing any sign in his window, by which his house could be known as a shebeen; for he was not ignorant that there is no class of men more learned in this species of hieroglyphics than excisemen."
  • "And in Apartheid-era South Africa, a shebeen was a mostly illegally operated pub for the disenfranchised natives who were unwelcome in English or Boer drinking establishments."
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