punch house
A historical Anglo-Indian term for a tavern or inn where alcoholic punch — the popular mixed drink of the colonial era — was served.
Definitions
A historical Anglo-Indian term for a tavern or inn where alcoholic punch — the popular mixed drink of the colonial era — was served. These establishments were fixtures of British India and other colonial settings during the 17th to 19th centuries, functioning as social hubs for merchants, soldiers, and colonial administrators. The punch house belongs to the same lexical world as 'gin palace' and 'ale house' — a specific institution of its time and place. Entirely historical today, it appears in colonial-era texts and period fiction.
The officers spent their evenings at the punch house, swapping stories from the campaign.
Comments
(India, historical) An inn or tavern.
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