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Glite Dictionary
knight of the spigot

knight of the spigot

9.9
A joking title used for a person who makes very good beer
  • noun
  • Archaic
translation icon : caballero del grifo
  • The annual fair awarded him the title of knight of the spigot for his superior beer.

Examples

  • Among local brewers, she was affectionately known as the knight of the spigot.

  • Legend has it, the knight of the spigot kept the city’s finest taverns well supplied.

  • He was honored as a knight of the spigot at the festival.

  • The local brewery named him a knight of the spigot for his contributions.

  • Among local brewers, she was affectionately known as the knight of the spigot.

  • The annual fair awarded him the title of knight of the spigot for his superior beer.

  • The local brewery named him a knight of the spigot for his contributions.

Synonyms

brewer
vsknight of the spigot
28 2.8

A maker of beer

is an honorary title, not the literal job of making beer
brewmaster
vsknight of the spigot
3 6.1

A person who makes beer and manages the place where it is made

is a humorous or semi formal title for a skilled maker of beer
beer maker
vsknight of the spigot
1 3.3

A person who makes beer from malt, hops, and water

is a jocular or semi formal honorific for someone skilled at making beer
brasser
vsknight of the spigot
9.3

A person who makes beer in a small traditional brewery

is a playful or semi formal title rather than an actual brewing role
beermaker
vsknight of the spigot
3.1

A person or company that makes beer to sell

is a title given humorously to someone skilled in producing beer

Antonyms

novice
46 3.4

A person new to an activity who has little experience

Surface Forms

knight of the spigot singular
knights of the spigot plural

Morphology

knight + of + the + spigot

The phrase is compositionally built: 'knight' signals an honorary or titled person and 'spigot' denotes a tap associated with beer/brewing, so 'knight of the spigot' plausibly means an honored person connected to taps/brewing. This humorous, productive pattern of 'X of Y' is cross-linguistically recognizable, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words could infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

The humorous title knight of the spigot may come from a playful image of a medieval knight standing by a beer spigot and ceremonially opening casks at a feast. So the phrase became a funny honor name for an expert 'brewer' who makes or serves great ale.