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Glite Dictionary
to tap the keg

to tap the keg

1 6.1
To start pouring beer from a keg by attaching something that lets beer flow
  • phrasal verb
  • Informal
: abrir el barril
  • Everyone cheered as she prepared to tap the keg at the annual beer festival.

Examples

  • He asked the bartender to tap the keg so everyone could enjoy fresh beer.

  • He quit the room, tapped the keg for a final few drops, and went outside.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • As soon as the party started, we gathered around to tap the keg and serve the first round of drinks.

Synonyms

to tap
vsto tap the keg
2 1.1

To take liquid from a container or tree

means starting to serve beer by opening a beer barrel and fitting a spout

Surface Forms

tap the keg infinitive
tapped the keg past
tapped the keg past participle
tapping the keg present participle
taps the keg third person singular

Morphology

tap + the + keg

The meaning 'to begin serving beer by opening a keg' follows directly from combining 'tap' (make an opening to draw out liquid) with 'keg' (a small barrel): the action is literally to make an opening in the barrel to draw drink. This simple verb+object compositional pattern is common and predictable, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Tap the keg comes from the real action of putting a tap into a full keg so beer flows out. So when someone says tap the keg, it means 'to begin serving beer' at a party.