watering hole

watering hole

1. A source of water where animals congregate to drink, especially in an arid environment. Because animals are made vulnerable while drinking, watering holes are an especially popular hunting ground for predators in the desert.
2. A bar, pub, or tavern, especially one at which one spends a lot of time. This is by far my favorite watering hole in the entire city. If you're looking for Larry, chances are good he's at some watering hole or another getting wasted.
See also: hole, water
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

watering hole

 
1. Lit. a place where there is water for animals (and people) to drink. The elephants came down to the watering hole and chased away the lions so they could drink in peace.
2. Fig. a bar or tavern. Fred is down at the local watering hole boozing it up.
See also: hole, water
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

watering hole

a pub or bar. informal humorous euphemistic
The expression developed from the original literal sense, ‘a waterhole where animals regularly drink’.
See also: hole, water
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

watering hole

n. a tavern. Now this place is one of my favorite watering holes.
See also: hole, water
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions
See also:
  • round in
  • be long in the tooth
  • long in the tooth
  • breeding ground
  • staggers
  • the staggers
  • glue factory
  • cohabit
  • cohabit with
  • cohabit with (someone or something)
References in periodicals archive
Others, including those hosting Russian websites, were used as watering holes.
Other neighboring Emirates and countries do not allow alcohol at all and although Dubai's watering holes are almost exclusively in incredibly ostentatious hotels, the possibility is there to unwind after a day's work.
Though Saratoga lost its status as the preeminent elite watering hole, it prospered nonetheless, epitomizing, in Sterngass' view, an emerging American culture that elevated "consumption as the means of achieving felicity" (147).
As the days wore on, however, fewer people attended the socials, although there was no other watering hole on campus or within walking distance.
Kids playing around a watering hole on their property (yes, kids still do that) have discovered a threatened species of frog not seen in 34 years.
"I met Jennifer while making my way around a local watering hole," Kenneth wrote.
Dark paneled walls join old leather chairs and stained-glass skylights at this watering hole for poets, politicians and patricians.
Just make sure it's at the golf course or the watering hole, not in the boardroom.
For a place that's all about the past, the future is starting to look a whole lot brighter after three investors recently bought the 100-plus year old watering hole.
The tax rebate is a lot like Bush (I can't hear you!) down in some rough and tumbleweed Texas watering hole, buying a round of drinks for everyone.
Schaefer used the watering hole analogy to explain the need to lower barriers between sometimes competing organizations for the good of the entire automotive industry.
"[I] noticed, though, that there wasn't any central watering hole for us.
I ran into Lynne at a local watering hole recently and she was pretty quiet about the project, although she let on that Molly Parker will star and that cinematographer Greg Middleton (whose work on Jeremy Podeswa's The Five Senses was one of the few redeeming factors in an otherwise empty exercise) is on board.
Well, now we have this description from The Washington Post of Christopher Hitchens as he hurries to catch US Airways' New York shuttle: "He's desperate to catch the next one so he can get to Elaine's, the famous Manhattan literary watering hole, where he's supposed to have dinner with Graydon Carter, his editor at Vanity Fair magazine.
Decent and inexpensive lodging, from $3 campsites to $25 four-person lodges, is provided within the park, while The Hide Safari Camp outside Hwange offers two dozen guests private safari-style tents outside a much-frequented pan (wildlife watering hole) for excellent, but more expensive, wildlife viewing.