What it means
Your local neighbourhood convenience store, usually on a corner, part deli, part mini supermarket. You pop in for a chopped cheese, a bacon egg and cheese, a cold drink, rolling papers, cat food, whatever. Loads are open late or 24/7, and half of them have a resident bodega cat like it pays rent. Proper NYC staple.
Usage examples
"Yo, I’m gonna swing by the bodega for an Arizona and a BEC. Need chips or a MetroCard while I’m there?"
"I'm running to the bodega for a bacon egg and cheese, you want anything?"
"The bodega on the corner is open till three, they'll have your cold drink."
"Hit the bodega and grab me a chopped cheese, an iced tea, and whatever candy's yelling your name at the counter."
"The bodega cat was posted up by the chips like he was doing quality control for the whole block."
Where it comes from
It comes from Spanish bodega, a word for a storeroom or wine cellar. In New York, Puerto Rican, Dominican, and other Latino communities carried it into neighborhood life, and by the late 20th century it had stuck to the corner convenience shop that does a bit of everything for the block.
Editors of this term
Your vote counts
Is this real street talk or have we lost the plot? Cast your vote.
