Journalese of the Day: Watering hole

Think back: Have you ever heard anyone speak the words “watering hole”? Probably not. Saloon, yes. Bar, tavern, pub, sure. But never, “We went to the watering hole for a drink.” Watering hole is classic journalese, something written but never spoken. Here’s a Sept. 2016 Vanity Fair, “First Person” piece by Scottish actor Alan Cumming: “On the day we arrived [in Marrakech] we wandered up the main square for dinner on the terrace of the Argana café, the watering hole de rigueur for foreigners…” And in a column about the organization A Brand New Congress, René Loth writes in the Boston Globe, Aug. 22, 2016, “…a kickoff session earlier this month at Doyle’s, the Jamaica Plain watering hole that has been a locus of progressive politics for years.” Regulars at Doyle’s would love that one. Water? Progressive?

-Robert Skole