What is "outlet"

Socket \Sock"et\, n. [OE. soket, a dim. through OF. fr. L. soccus. See Sock a covering for the foot.]

1. An opening into which anything is fitted; any hollow thing or place which receives and holds something else; as, the sockets of the teeth.

   His eyeballs in their hollow sockets sink.
   --Dryden.

2. Especially, the hollow tube or place in which a candle is fixed in the candlestick.

3. (Electricity) the receptacle of an electric lamp into which a light bulb is inserted, containing contacts to conduct electricity to the bulb.

4. (Electricity) the receptacle fixed in a wall and connected by conductive wiring to an electrical supply, containing contacts to conduct electricity, and into which the plug of an electrical device is inserted; -- called also a wall socket or outlet. The socket will typically have two or three contacts; if three, the third is connected to a ground for safety.

   And in the sockets oily bubbles dance.
   --Dryden.

   Socket bolt (Mach.), a bolt that passes through a thimble that is placed between the parts connected by the bolt.

   Socket chisel. Same as Framing chisel. See under Framing.

   Socket pipe, a pipe with an expansion at one end to receive the end of a connecting pipe.

   Socket pole, a pole armed with iron fixed on by means of a socket, and used to propel boats, etc. [U.S.]

   Socket wrench, a wrench consisting of a socket at the end of a shank or rod, for turning a nut, bolthead, etc., in a narrow or deep recess.

mid-13c., "a river mouth," from out + let (v.). Electrical wiring sense is attested from 1892. Meaning "a retail store" is attested from 1933. Figurative sense "means of relief or discharge" is from 1620s.

n. 1 A vent or similar passage to allow the escape of something. 2 Something which allows for the release of one's desires. 3 A river that runs out of a lake. 4 A shop that sells the products of a particular manufacturer or supplier. 5 A wall-mounted device such as a socket or receptacle connected to an electrical system at which current is taken to supply utilization equipment or appliances.

1. n. a place of business for retailing goods [syn: mercantile establishment, retail store, sales outlet]

2. receptacle providing a place in a wiring system where current can be taken to run electrical devices [syn: wall socket, wall plug, electric outlet, electrical outlet, electric receptacle]

3. an opening that permits escape or release; "he blocked the way out"; "the canyon had only one issue" [syn: exit, issue, way out]

4. activity that releases or expresses creative energy or emotion; "she had no other outlet for her feelings"; "he gave vent to his anger" [syn: release, vent]

Outlet may mean:

• An electrical outlet
• An outlet store or outlet mall
• The pelvic outlet
• A type of instance variable used for graphical user interface programming in the OpenStep / Cocoa environment
• Outlet, Ontario, a community in Canada
• The Outlet Company, a defunct retail and broadcasting company
• Outlet (Antigua newspaper)
• The point where a river runs out of a lake, as opposed to the River mouth

Outlet was a radical newspaper published from Saint John's, Antigua and Barbuda. Outlet was founded in 1968. The newspaper was edited by Tim Hector and James Knight. It functioned as a weekly organ of the Antigua Caribbean Liberation Movement (ACLM). For the ACLM the newspaper played a very important role. In its heyday Outlet claimed a circulation of around 5,000 copies, thus being the most widely read newspaper on Antigua. As of the early 1970s, Outlet and Standard (which appeared on irregular basis) were the sole opposition newspapers in the country.

Outlet was outspoken against corruption in the country. It argued that the Vere Bird government was guilty of lax control of casino businesses, peddling passports to non-Antiguans, mismanaging foreign loans, and using Antigua and Barbuda to launder arms shipments to South Africa. Due to its criticisms, Outlet was often targeted by the government.

In June 1978 Antigua Printing and Publishing Company ceased to print Outlet. The company claimed that the decision was motivated by fears that Outlet risked a libel lawsuit.

In 1982 Outlet was pressured by the government to apply for a surety bond, following fresh criticism of government corruption in its articles. Then on 23 July 1982 around twenty police officers raided the Outlet office, seizing documents and mailing lists of subscribers. The police claimed that the seized materials were secret government documents and that the publishers would be charged under the Official Secrets Act (it later turned out that the documents were publications of UNESCO and documents from Barbados about the Space Research Corporation). The Commissioner of Police Edric Potter declared that publishing of Outlet would be banned as of 31 July 1982. On 26 July 1982, a break-in at the office occurred, and equipment worth 8,000 East Caribbean dollars was stolen. Copies of the 21 August 1982 issue of Outlet were seized by police. These events prompted the newspaper to bring the government in front of High Court, charging it with trying to deny the newspaper its "constitutional right" to publish. On 4 September 1982, the High Court ruled that Outlet was a legitimate newspaper with constitutional right to be published.

In 1984 accusations of corruption and maladministration published by ACLM pressured the government to call fresh elections. In May 1985 Hector was charged with spreading 'false statements' about the government and the Commissioner of Police. In 1990 the Privy Council found the charges unconstitutional.

The office the newspaper was targeted by arsonists, following a November 1998 article in Outlet charging the government with secretly having imported weaponry for half a million dollars. The attack on Outlet would affect the campaigning ahead of the 1999 general election.

As of the early 2000s, the newspaper was published on Tuesdays and Thursdays.