| Also Hock shop. A business where things ("personal, movable property") can be left as collateral on loans. Items not reclaimed by former clients are later resold. Sometimes people try to sell stolen goods there.
Not a bad way to quickly change goods into cash if you can't get on eBay or Yahoo auctions or something. You can often find excellent deals there. Can be a sad place to shop if you look at it from the perspective that the items wound up there because someone needed quick cash more than the item in question.
See also: usury. | 
