public house—a licensed saloon or bar: Both these sorts of public house are essentially working class; the blackcoat’s pub is another sort of place.
Note:
a) The expression is not equivalent in meaning to the phrase public bar—(UK) a drinking room in a pub where drinks are sold at the counter, as contrasted with a “saloon bar” or “lounge bar” where tables are provided and drinks are brought by waiters:
- Pubs usually have two separate rooms; first, public bar which is in general frequented more by men … second, lounge bar in which there is more equal number of men and women.
b) The expression does not correlate in meaning with the phrase public home—a communal building:
- There are a number of hospitals, asylums and public homes, including ten public hospitals, the largest of which is the Toronto General hospital.
public housing—low-rent dwellings owned or administered by a government:
- When federal officials hoped to proceed to more substantial matters such as public housing and public assistance, the states turned balky.