cof•fee•house
Pronunciation: (kô'fē-hous", kof'ē-), [key] — n., pl. v., -hous•es -housed, -hous•ing.
—n. - a public place that specializes in serving coffee and other refreshments and that sometimes provides informal entertainment.
- (in 17th- and 18th-century England) a similar establishment where groups met for a particular purpose, as for informal discussions or card playing.
—v.i. - to engage in aimless talk or chitchat.
- to make remarks and gestures during play with the purpose of misleading opponents as to the cards one holds.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.