Shangri-Las

Noun

Shangri-La (plural Shangri-Las)

1. A place or land of complete bliss, delight, and peace, especially one seen as an escape from ordinary life; a paradise.
   • He spoke a kind of Chinese that I don't understand very well, but I think he said something about a lamasery near here—along the valley, I gathered—where we could get food and shelter. Shangri-La, he called it. La is Tibetan for mountain-pass. He was most emphatic that we should go there.[1933 September, James Hilton, Lost Horizon, London: Macmillan and Co., Limited, St. Martin's Street, London, published October and November 1933 (2nd printing), →OCLC, page 64

   Synonyms:

   Xanadu, paradise, utopia, heaven

2. An opulent building or resort that provides entertainment or luxurious living.
   • Well-known architects of the day, like Willis Polk, Albert Farr and Julia Morgan, designed some of the early mansions. Gordon Blanding, millionaire patron of the arts, bought the island's southern tip and built a Shangri La for his San Francisco friends.1975, Jack Mason, Helen Van Cleave Park, The Making of Marin (1850-1975), North Shore Books, page 111

   Synonyms:

   pleasure palace, pleasuredome, Xanadu

See all 3 meanings of Shangri-La