Question for Americans

[KimMH]

Miss Chicken, we do indeed call bodegas "party stores." Alas, with temp currently hovering around 20f we are not having more fun than the rest of the union.

I had never heard of a bodega until I began to hear the term on tv new shows. They sounded exotic until I googled it and found out what they are!

btw, what is the name/author of the mystery you are reading?

Nice to have an answer from someone from Michigan.

The book is The Sleuth Sisters by Maggie Pill. It is about three middle-aged sisters who open up a detective agency. I am not enjoying it as much as I hoped because I don't really like the sisters all that much. It doesn't help that the all three sisters are telling the story alternating between chapters. However I do want to find out who the murderer is so I will read it to the end.

I also heard the term bodega for the first time on TV. I have. Feeling it might have been on Person of Interest but I am not sure.

My pleasure! I think I started hearing it on CNN. I'm sorry the book isn't riveting. I hate to abandon a book I've started; it has to be pretty awful, so I sympathize!

We don't actually use the term "bodega" in that way around here though.

How is it used where you are? It's new to me so it's kind of interesting.

 

[Silvercrest]

Glad would rather sit back and enjoy the smell of gasoline over a breakfast of Ruby's famous flapjacks

I was wondering what the heck goes into making these flapjacks until I read it again.

 

[Jim Gamma]

Welcome to my world, Miss Chicken. There are so many words that are misleading to the non-initiates. When I read "fire engine" for the first time I wondered if that might be a lighter.
Or - closer to your example - "goodwill store". What positive intentions might they sell, your average tourist muses.

In my part of the world a 'goodwill shop' is called an 'op shop' (opportunity shop) though people often refer them by a shortened form of the charity that runs a particular store (Vinnies or the Salvos).

I think we just call them "charity shops" in most of the UK... that's if you're referring to shops where people can drop stuff off for a charity to sell on as second-hand goods?

 

[Miss Chicken]

Yes, what we call op shop here are the same as what are called charity shops in the UK.

We also have 'tip shops' that recycle worthwhile items that people drop off at refuse centres/tips/dumps.

 

[Sector 7]

Here in my part of North Carolina, we call them by name: Goodwill, Salvation Army, Value Village, etc.

I love going to Value Village, run by Kidney Foundation. The last Wednesday of each month, almost everything in their store is half price. So far, I've managed to amass a full Carolina Panther wardrobe for mere pennies on the dollar compared to retail. For example: average $2.15 per shirt (Reebok, Nike Fit, etc.)

 

[RAMA]

I wasn't aware of the Michigan definition..but party stores carry costumes, party hats, birthday party supplies, balloons etc. Literally dedicated to parties!