local option
1
6.8
- noun
- /ˈloʊkəl ˈɑpʃən/
- Formal
:
opción local
- Additionally, the secretary of the Georgia Bar Association, Walter B. Hill, sent an editorial to the Atlanta Constitution supporting local option laws.
- local option law
- local option bill
- passage of a local option
Examples
-
Haygood's book contained testimonials from Atlanta judges on the evils of alcohol on society and a defense of the general local option law proposal on the basis of the right of a community to decide on the sale of alcohol.
Academic text (2009) -
Baptists around the state also became involved in the fight for local option.
Academic text (2009) -
African Americans in Georgia, however, saw the benefits of the local option law in a different light.
Academic text (2009) -
On July 13, Pringle introduced the general local option bill to the House.
Academic text (2009) -
Numerous citizens of Georgia, however, began to use the existing local option law to stop the sale of alcohol in their counties.
Academic text (2009) -
Alcohol-related laws and issues were nothing new to Georgia when the local option law passed in 1885.
Academic text (2009) -
Local option prevailed, then as now, and many municipalities had no sales outlet at all for alcohol.
Academic text (1998) -
More than thirty-seven thousand Georgians signed a petition pleading for the passage of a local option law.
Academic text (2009) -
In the summer of 1883, Congressman R. C. Humber of Putnam County introduced the general local option law to the House, and it soon came up again for a vote.
Academic text (2009) -
The residents of the city voted on whether to adopt a local option to permit the sale of alcohol.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound combines 'local' (of a particular area) + 'option' (a choice), so its basic meaning — a choice or decision made at the local level — is directly inferable from the constituents. The specific legal nuance (e.g. adopting or rejecting laws) is a predictable application of that "local choice" meaning and follows common compositional patterns, making it accessible to a B1 learner who knows both words.
Etymology
Local option comes from times when each town or district was given the option to vote on a rule like selling alcohol. Picture a small community choosing 'yes' or 'no' at a vote — so local option means the local right to choose or reject a law.