Harvey Wallbanger
- noun
- /ˈhɑrvi ˈwɔlbæŋɡər/
- - Do you like Harvey Wallbangers?
Examples
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At the party, everyone was raving about the delicious Harvey Wallbanger cocktails.
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Let's talk about Harvey Wallbangers.
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This is a fine, elegant Harvey Wallbanger.
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Can I get a Harvey Wallbanger for my ex-wife?
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And they experimented with cocktails: Screwdrivers, Harvey Wallbangers, Black Russians, and Pink Squirrels.
Fiction book (2002) -
Could you make me a Harvey Wallbanger with extra Galliano, please?
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After a long day, I enjoy relaxing with a Harvey Wallbanger on the patio.
Surface Forms
Morphology
Harvey + Wallbanger
This is a proprietary/proper name for a cocktail and its meaning (a mixed drink with vodka, orange juice, and Galliano) cannot be predicted from the constituent parts. 'Harvey' is a personal name and 'Wallbanger' is not a transparent, dictionaryized compound that would cue a beverage; even if its parts suggested 'wall' + 'banger', that would not indicate a cocktail to a B1 learner. Therefore the expression is idiomatic/lexicalized and not derivable from its parts.
Etymology
Harvey Wallbanger may come from a funny story about a man called Harvey who liked this drink so much that after a few he would leave the bar and 'bang' into walls because he was drunk. That's why the name stuck, and today Harvey Wallbanger means a mixed drink of vodka, orange juice, and Galliano.