Comments

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  Sam Scribe August 31, 2010 at 9:01pm

  As a writer who doesn't normally cover travel, when I see the word "local" coupled with "bar" or "restaurant," I assume the writer is saying that the clients are neighborhood people rather than tourists. For me, this is a bit of shorthand that works well. Am I the only one here who has no quarrel with this term?
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  Wink Lorch August 31, 2010 at 8:56pm

  Max - with an editorial hat on, I have to say that I totally agree with your summary. Dare I suggest that it's simply a conveniently 'in vogue' word that helps save words or lengthy explanations, which in the quick fire world we live in happens to suit?
  How about starting a campaign to get rid of it (apart from the historically sound British usage)? Or is this indeed just that?
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  Max Pesling August 31, 2010 at 7:59pm

  Thanks, Sheila! So, putting aside the British usage "a local" (as a noun), let's talk about "local" as an adjective, which is so often used in the media. I'm seeing three meanings here. "Local" bar or restaurant can mean, depending on who's talking:
  
  1. Whichever happens to be closest to your home or office, or to someone else's;
  2. One which is not part of a chain;
  3. One which appeals to local neighborhood customers; it's not a "destination" for people outside the area.
  
  Any other meanings you guys can think of? Also, with three divergent meanings such as this, I still feel the term is too vague and fuzzy to be used responsibly. What do you think?
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  Sheila O'Connor August 30, 2010 at 5:20am

  Oh and as a Brits I'd pretty much only use the word "bar" to mean a "wine bar." But of course you could stand at the bar waiting to be served in the pub. So you could say, "I stood at the bar for 20 minutes at my local tonight, waiting to be served. Have you ever had that experience in a pub?"
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  Sheila O'Connor August 30, 2010 at 5:16am

  To me as a Brit, if I say "I'll be down at the local," I am referring only to a pub. It wouldn't be anything else. The "local" I would say is typically a place you can walk to (and stagger back from some might say) or at least it's the nearest pub to where you live. Wouldn't matter if that pub was part of a chain or one of a kind, it would still be the closest to where you live and therefore "local" to you. My two cents (1.3 UK pence) worth.... Saying "my local" is often a sign of affection.
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  Max Pesling August 30, 2010 at 5:06am

  Hi folks, thanks for replying. The British usage doesn't bother me, as it's actually a noun that stands by itself: look at definition 2(c) on Merriam-Webster.com: British : a nearby or neighborhood pub of course.
  
  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!
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  Trevor Claringbold August 30, 2010 at 12:21am

  The 'local', as mentioned Allan, is a common term here in the UK, and gets used widely in the way he mentions. In my writing I tend to only use the term 'local restaurant' (or similar), to explain a location of an establishment relative to where I happen to be. It's not something I use generally, but in the context of 'I decided not to eat in the hotel, but instead found a local restaurant...', then I can see it's worth. Incidentally, is it just me, or does the term 'bar' seem a particularly American term?
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  Judy Wells August 30, 2010 at 12:14am

  I think a lot of us use "local" to designate a restaurant or bar that is not part of a chain, especially one that did not originate in that area. Fuzzy writing, i agree.
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  Allan Lynch August 30, 2010 at 12:06am

  My British friends always refer to their "local", meaning the pub they frequent. It doesn't mean it's the pub in their neighbourhood. For example, my friend A has a "local" for lunch. It's on the backside of the block on which his office is located. If he's "in town' and says to meet him at his "local" and it's an evening or weekend, I know where to go. Or he might suggest we meet up at so-and-so's "local". Again, I know where to go.
  
  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.
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  Max Pesling August 29, 2010 at 11:54pm

  Can you guys help settle an argument? I was having brunch with a friend who also writes, and we got into this big long argument about the expressions "local bar" and "local restaurant." It started when I told him I HATE the expressions, I find them meaningless and overused, especially by... us travel-writing types (I confess, I've caught myself using them too!). But...
  
  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.