ladies' lounge

Noun

ladies' lounge (plural ladies' lounges)

1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see lady, lounge.
2. (Australia) A room in a pub or hotel, separate from the main drinking area, in which drinks are served; originally a place for women to drink in when not welcome or not comfortable in the traditionally male-oriented public bar, and latterly a more genteel area than the public bar.
   • When she accepted his invitation, finally, and went to have a drink with him in the ladies′ lounge, her first experience of such a place, she alone seemed to notice how in the raucous group conversations he had a peculiar mannerism.2003, Robert Gray, “from: The Waters under the Earth”, in Peter Craven, editor, The Best Australian Essays 2003, page 229
   • In 1961 Australia was a very uptight place. The Queen and Sir Robert Menzies loomed large in the national psyche; there was capital punishment, pubs closed at 6 pm and women stayed in the ladies′ lounge; White Australia, cricket and the sheep′s back were pillars of the community. Dissent or satire...2008, Toby Creswell, Notorious Australians, unnumbered page

   Synonyms:

   beer garden