Meanings
plural flat-roof pubs · alternative flat roof pub · alternative flat-roofed pub
- UKhumorousA rough pub, usually on a council estate.
I rocked flat-roofed pubs called things like The Dockers Fist.
2021 May 19, Harold Heath, Long Relationships: My Incredible Journey From Unknown DJ to Small-time DJ, Velocity Press, →ISBN3 more examples
From 'the toughest pub in Britain' to the boozer that's diversifying. Is there any future in the 'flat roof pub'?
2018 October 7, Damon Wilkinson, “The rise and fall of Manchester's council estate pubs”, in Manchester Evening News, archived from the original on 27 Feb 2021Stella Artois back home has connotations of string vests and flat-roof pubs and things 'kicking off ' in a car park, yet for some reason on the Continent it transforms into something far more sophisticated.
2021 October 14, Jack Whitehall, Michael Whitehall, Hilary Whitehall, How to Survive Family Holidays, Hachette UK, →ISBNIt starts to rain so I cycle slowly home via York Way, the new developments slammed up against ungentrifiable pockets of social housing and flat roof pubs.
2022 September 1, Erin Kelly, The Skeleton Key, Hachette UK, →ISBN
Origin
The pubs on mid-twentieth century housing estates were often cheaply built from concrete panels, resulting in a cuboid building with a flat roof.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
flat-roof pub. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flat-roof%20pub
“flat-roof pub.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flat-roof%20pub. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “flat-roof pub,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/flat-roof%20pub.
Source: flat-roof pub on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.