mahogany reef n. a place where alcoholic drinks are served, especially in a seaside community. Editorial Note: This is a jocular expression associated with sailing and fishing. It is sometimes used as the name of an actual drinking establishment, but it is often capitalized even when it is not. A similar term in skiing is mahogany ridge ‘the last ski run of the day,’ which is also often used as the name of drinking establishments. Another nautical variant is rum squall ‘a euphemism for a session of alcohol drinking, after a fanciful weather formation said to prevent a quick return to shore.’ Also, among sailors rum historically has been called close-reef. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Twice a day the River Thames recedes, revealing a muddy shoreline. Hobbyists known as mudlarks stroll the surface searching for objects that have found their way into the river over the centuries, everything from ancient Roman jewelry to modern...
Amid court-ordered busing in the 1970s, a middle-school teacher tried to distract her nervous students on the first day of class with this strange assignment: find a monarch caterpillar. The result? A memorable lesson in the miracle of metamorphosis...