Meaning
A downtown vendors' market building or covered lane packed with small stalls selling clothes, shoes, fabric, accessories, and household goods. In Jamaica 'the arcade' most often means the bustling shopping arcades of downtown Kingston, where higglers and small traders rent booths side by side — a step up from the open sidewalk 'bend-down plaza'.
Examples
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Mi a go dung a di arcade fi buy cloth.
I'm going down to the arcade to buy fabric.
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Di arcade pack wid vendor an shopper.
The arcade is packed with vendors and shoppers.
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She rent a stall inna di arcade.
She rents a stall in the arcade.
Origin
From English 'arcade' (a covered passage of shops); in Jamaica the downtown vendors' market. See [[higgler]], [[bend-down-plaza]].
How it’s used
A downtown market building of small stalls; a notch above the open 'bend-down plaza'. See [[higgler]], [[bend-down-plaza]], [[market]].