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Comments
What bothers me is how it's vastly overused as an adjective in front of the words "bar" and "restaurant." Judy makes a great point -- it's a way to differentiate it from chain restaurants, which are a plague in our country. And this usage to me makes sense. But then would you call Nobu a local restaurant, because it's not a big chain? Probably not, right?
Still not sure what the answer is. Personally, I would propose banning usage of the word "local" in this context altogether, but of course I'm just a dog with a lei around his neck and nobody's going to listen to me!
I have used "local bar" to describe a place to someone not familiar with the place and wouldn't know that The King's Arms is a pub. It could be an inn, a restaurant or a pub.
As for personal belongings, yeah, I'd rather they invited me to take someone else's belongings 'cause I'm pretty sure what's in that Louis Vuitton bag is better than what's in my Mountain Co-Op.
What the heck is a "local" bar? I can't define it, can you? I've even tried to define it by what it's not. WHAT IS THE OPPOSITE OF A LOCAL BAR? Is it a regional bar? An international bar? Can anyone tell me??
A bar is a bar and a restaurant is a restaurant, and each is "local" to wherever they happen to be located! It's almost as if the words "local bar" have become fused as one word in writers' minds, and you can't say "bar" without sticking "local" in front of it. So maybe we should spell it "localbar."
It's like when you're deplaning and they remind you to take your "personal belongings." That too drives me nuts. As opposed to what, my "impersonal" belongings? Or somebody else's belongings? Doesn't "your belongings" say it clearly enough?
I know there are much bigger issues out there right now, but using language well and precisely should always be our goal, no? Can you guys shed some light on this? My friend kept defending the usage, but couldn't tell me exactly and convincingly what the heck these words mean.