Dictionary

barrelhouse en · NOUN

Etymology

From barrel + house. Originally used to refer specifically to a bar that served whiskey directly from the barrel.

Meanings

1. A rough-and-tumble drinking establishment.
   • It’s beautiful, but never naïvely so; the pastoral moments were offset by barrelhouse intrusions. 2008 January 14, Ben Ratliff, “Jazz Showcase Fever Propels a Mini Marathon”, in New York Times:
2. A loud, percussive type of blues piano suitable for noisy bars or taverns.
   • A barrelhouse blues was being shouted over the stamping of feet on a wooden floor. Miss Grace, the good-time woman, had her usual Saturday-night customers. 1969, Maya Angelou, chapter 18, in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, New York: Bantam, published 1971, page 111:

Forms

Relateds

honky-tonk · roadhouse

Synonyms

juke (drinking establishment) · juke joint (drinking establishment)