Have you heard of this phrase? I heard it used recently, talking about how people have their home and their workplace, but we each also have "third places" where we go. The library, of course, is a good third place, and we were talking about how to be the community's most natural third place.

I want to beat out the mall!!!

I have tried googling, and I'll do some literature searches here, but I wondered of you all had heard/used this phrase.

It sounds, good, CW, but I confess that I haven't heard it before.

While I do go to the library often enough, I suppose the mall would beat it out (having 2 daughters and all!) Yet, I am hardly a mall person.

I suppose my third place is my computer.

Upon hearing this term I thought of the person who won the bronze medal, not of a location. Oh, the joys of one word having more than one meaning! The term, "home away from home" comes to mind as reflecting your concept, though.

A few years ago Third Place Books opened up in Lake Forest Park, WA, about 8 minutes away from me, but I never really thought about the meaning of "Third Place." Note that this site lists the town wrong. It's [URL=http://www.cityoflfp.com/]Lake Forest Park[URL], not Lake Forest. And it's Third Place Books, not Third Place Bookstore.

Tinman

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Originally posted by Caterwauller:
I want to beat out the mall!!!

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I've never heard the phrase before, but it sounds like a retailer's slogan meaning it wants to offer something, such as convenience or prices, that would create a more pleasant "shopping experience" and enable it to "beat out the mall" by attracting more customers (clients? patrons?). I couldn't find that phrase, but I got 114 hits for "beat the Mall."

Tinman

The term is not used in the UK - but it would be, surely, the pub!

But of course, with all that wonderful beer you have! We United Statesians, with inferior beverages, settle for libraries and bowling alleys.

but it would be, surely, the pub!

Oh, that it would. And, some of those pubs are so cozy, with books on the wall, fine furnishngs, carved moldings (you know which one I mean, right Richard?). It is a great place to drink fine beer, have intellectual discussions on philosophy or whatever, and to be with special friends.

You are so lucky!

Tonight we are trying out a pub I haven't been to for years. It used to be called The Albatross but it's been renamed "The Joshua Tree" - whatever that might be. But it's supposed to have a good restaurant - and it's sure to have good beer!

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it's been renamed "The Joshua Tree" - whatever that might be.

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Probably more than you need to know about the Joshua Tree.

The Irish Band U2 brought out a hit album called The Joshua Tree at the end of the 80s, and I suspect that was the inspiration for the renaming, not the actual tree.

Maybe they've called it The Joshua Tree because they are a persistent lily in the desert?? Or maybe, like the tree, they wish to wave you into the Promised Land???

Richard - will you ask why the name change occurred???

Quote "...Richard - will you ask why the name change occurred???..."

The staff probably wouldn't know. Unfortunately pub names are not protected under local authority regulations and they do get changed, usually because the new owners want it to be uniform with others in their chain.

Thus, in Reigate the Red Cross, White Hart and Desert Rat were all changed to, respectively, The Tap and Spile; The Faucet and Firkin and The Venture Inn. All have now been changed back apart from the Desert Rat.