Life Imitates The Simpsons:  The Sip Joint

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As anyone who has endured five minutes of conversation with me knows, I'll often relate real-life events to The Simpsons. That show, like the Bible and the works of Shakespeare, has now reached a canonical mass such that you may find a textual reference applicable to any real-world situation.

Today's printed version of THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL offers me another such occasion. There's an article headlined "Police Raid After-Hours 'Sip Joint' in Silver Lake." Inexplicably, though, this piece is not online, so far as I can google. But the barebones of the tale is told in a subheading. "A 17-year-old male who was allegedly caught dispensing beer has been referred to the Youth Services Bureau for prosecution in Family Court."

An older article which is still available gives us this definition of a "sip joint."

"A sip joint, according to the police, is a place where a bar is set up — usually a house — for the illegal sale of alcoholic beverages at times when bars are closed."

Now, I've often been strapped for cash, but I've never once thought of setting up a tavern in my residence. Yet to geniuses like Homer Simpson, such a plan is their first instinct, as we saw at the end of this episode.

The term "sip joint" itself seems exceedingly rare, and perhaps limited to Rhode Island.

Can readers supply instances of this practice, and what it's called, from their own regions?

     Posted By: Paul - Fri Jul 25, 2008
     Category: Business | Crime | Stupid Criminals | Domestic | Inebriation and Intoxicants | Regionalism





Comments
Sue--Great term, "blind pig." I think that one is used in the SIMPSONS prohibition episode.
Posted by Paul on 07/25/08 at 11:00 AM
Yertle--how hard is it to access liquor in this society, that you need illegal alternatives?
Posted by Paul on 07/25/08 at 11:01 AM
Jimmymadoc--a splendidly vivid term!
Posted by Paul on 07/25/08 at 11:02 AM
BikerPuppy--what, discriminating against sororities?!?
Posted by Paul on 07/25/08 at 12:43 PM
Phred22--semi-plausible derivation, except that clip joints offered so much more than sip joints!
Posted by Paul on 07/25/08 at 12:45 PM
Jasmine--but I bet no one charged money at the afterparty....?
Posted by Paul on 07/25/08 at 12:45 PM
Chris in NC--very succinct. What about "booze barns"?
Posted by Paul on 07/25/08 at 12:46 PM
NYC--again, another straight-talkin', direct terminology.
Posted by Paul on 07/25/08 at 12:46 PM
Paul Thomas--I want to make some kind of headline about a murder in one of these places during a heat wave: LOUSE SHOT ON THE SPOT IN A HOT SHOT HOUSE.
Posted by Paul on 07/25/08 at 01:48 PM
ROB--how can there be criminals if everything is permitted?!?
Posted by Paul on 07/25/08 at 01:48 PM
BikerPuppy--ah, it's all clear now! Very good. I thought you were impugning the hard-drinking women out there, but instead you are one!
Posted by Paul on 07/25/08 at 01:49 PM
Nici--I picture Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney whenever I hear "barn dance"!
Posted by Paul on 07/25/08 at 02:51 PM
Rhodeygirl--you are obviously not hanging out in the truly illegal places!
Posted by Paul on 07/25/08 at 03:06 PM
Jasmine--maybe these "after parties" functioned a bit like the old "rent party" concept...?
Posted by Paul on 07/26/08 at 11:34 AM
Kathryn--"sly grogger" is the hands-down most evocative term so far!
Posted by Paul on 07/27/08 at 10:21 AM
Rickmatz--I'm glad to see the venerable old term "rent party" is still in use!
Posted by Paul on 07/27/08 at 12:54 PM
MotorMary--I like that term. Church socials are safe and liquor-free--but not OUR socials!
Posted by Paul on 07/28/08 at 12:31 PM
Andy--if you visit up north, we'll go to a sip joint, but you have to promise to take me to a shot house in return!
Posted by Paul on 08/01/08 at 11:22 AM
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