Storage Sheds
A shed is generally a modest structure, usually constructed of wood in a back garden or on an allotment, used for storage and as a workshop and very often as a retreat in which to relax and pursue hobbies, especially gardening and light engineering. more...
Sheds are often highly individual and personalized, and the larger shed will be made comfortable by adapting worn out furniture. Along with tools and equipment, they generally house a cornucopia of items unwanted in the house that might, one day, prove useful. A small shed used primarily for the storage of tools is referred to as a toolshed, which may maximize the space for storing such implements through a system of shelves and hooks.
In Australia and, particularly, New Zealand a shed is also any building, of any construction or size, that is not a residence and that may be open at the ends or sides, or both.
A popular style for smaller storage sheds have a gambrel style roof, which resemble a Dutch-style barn, and the high sloping roof line increases storage space in the 'loft'.
Other uses
"Behind the bicycle/bike shed", in British and Australian contexts, is a place for covert activities at school, out of sight, out of earshot; examples are smoking, fighting and sexual activities.
"Behind the woodshed" has a similar meaning.
The woodshed treatment is an expression for a rather severe physical punishment, originally a bare-arse paddling or switching as rural fathers sometimes gave a very naughty boy bending over in the shed (or barn), often bent over a work bench or so - it's no sight for other family members and the hollering is muffled. The expression has stuck, even in an urbanized context, as in BDSM or for painful hazing.
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