Pub

A public house, usually known as a pub, is a drinking establishment found mainly in Britain, Ireland, Australia and various other countries. Theme pubs can be found all over the world as examples of what are perceived to be the archetypical pubs from the countries more famous for having them.

Pubs are social places for the sale and consumption of mainly alcoholic beverages. They are culturally, socially and traditionally different from other places found elsewhere in the world such as cafes, bars and bierkellers.

Pubs are very specific to the culture that they come from and they can also vary a considerable amount from each other within a given country or culture.

The culture of pubs arose in the British Isles and as a result neither the British public house or the Irish public house can claim to be the original.

In Britain pubs often bear traditional names. The name may reflect local trades (The Mason's Arms, The Foresters); local sporting activities (The Cricketers, The Fox and Hounds); a noted individual (The Marquis of Granby, The Lord Nelson); an historic event (The Trafalgar, The Royal Oak). There is often a royal or aristocratic association (The King's Head, The Queen Victoria, The Duke of Cambridge). Another traditional naming convention is to use the name of two objects which may or may not be complementary (The George and Dragon, The Goat and Compasses) In recent years a number of chain outlets have sprung up which use semi-traditional sounding names (The Rat and Parrot, The Slug and Lettuce) for all of the pubs in the chain. Newly acquired pubs are renamed and many people resent the loss of traditional names.

In Ireland pubs usually bear the name of the current or a previous owner. e.g. Murphy's or O'Connor's Bar.

The owner of a public house is known as the publican.