What is a dive bar?

The definition of a "dive bar" is a bit of a tricky one. I looked it up in the dictionary and I was told a "dive" is a "cheap, disreputable saloon, gambling hall..." whatever. Those words will be the main factors in determining if a bar gets into this list. It has to be cheap, if not in the prices of drinks than at least in the clientele. And it must be disreputable (again if not the drinks, at least the clientele.)

One thing about dive bars that makes them unique is when you're there, it feels like you've walked into something hidden and personal, something not everyone knows about. It's what the Viper Room in LA was before River Phoenix died there. It's like a "secret spot" in surfing. To the purist dive bar hunters who love the thrill of the discovery, I apologize for sharing some of these hideaways. To those new to the genre, here's a basic roadmap but please tread lightly. Many of the places listed here are neighborhood bars where people go to get away from the bullshit in their lives and wouldn't mind kicking a little *** "that'll teach tha' gaddam pretty boy to smile a' me dammit where's mah beer

I drove a taxi and lots of traffic to and from dive bars and mostly it is drunks who are not working but getting govt money or living with mom and so on. A bar for the working class would be a step up from a dive bar.

Dive bar is a bar that not many people go to except for maybe a few old timers or regulars. They don't do happy hour or offer any specials.

A dive bar is an unpretentious place where alcohol is served cheaply.

I'm a bartender and as far as I know a "dive" bar is one that is dirty and the people that patronize it are just as dirty as it is. Physically, mentally, etc.

a dive bar is a grimy, dirty, non-pretentious bar, where tough guys with tattoos and mean drunks hang out and posers get the crap beat out of them.

When you walk into a "dive" the bartender asks if you are carrying a gun, if you say "no" he lends you one.

a jazz club