Groggery

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A cheap, disreputable bar or tavern where alcoholic drinks are sold to a rough clientele
2. A seedy, low-end drinking place that serves liquor, typically patronized by poorer or unsavory customers
3. An inexpensive and often shabby saloon where strong drink is sold, frequented by people of the lowest social standing

Etymology: Grog itself has a known origin: it was named after Admiral Edward Vernon, nicknamed "Old Grog" for the grogram cloak he wore, and in 1740 he ordered that the Royal Navy's rum ration be diluted with water. The sailors' new drink took his nickname, and "grog" came to mean any watered or cheap alcoholic drink. "Groggery" is simply grog with the suffix "-ery", which in English marks a place or establishment where something is done, sold or kept, as in "bakery" or "brewery". So a groggery is a low-class tavern or saloon where grog and other cheap liquor were served. The formation is plain and transparent: a naval nickname, turned into a common noun, given a suffix that names the place where it is sold. Its use is mostly historical and somewhat jocular today.

Synonyms: tavern, saloon, bar, dram shop, pub