barrelhouse means A rough-and-tumble drinking establishment. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 91 out of 100.
Why “barrelhouse” is a great word
BARRELHOUSE — [Noun] A rough, low-class drinking establishment, or the loud, percussive style of blues piano music associated with such venues. From barrel + house, originally referring to a bar that served whiskey directly from the barrel; first attested in American English in the 1870s. Unlike a 'tavern,' which suggests a settled, respectable public house, or a 'honky-tonk,' which evokes the twang and sawdust of a Western dance hall, a barrelhouse is a makeshift world of raw spirit and percussive thunder. It is the splintered plank atop two kegs, the jarring cascade of piano notes played with fists and elbows to cut through the din, and the sharp, unlabeled pour of amber whiskey—a temporary, roaring sanctuary for a permanent thirst.
Etymology
From barrel + house. Originally used to refer specifically to a bar that served whiskey directly from the barrel.
noun
- A rough-and-tumble drinking establishment.“It’s beautiful, but never naïvely so; the pastoral moments were offset by barrelhouse intrusions.”
- 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.”