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booze can

booze can

9.9
A can holding beer or another alcoholic drink
  • noun
  • /buz kæn/
  • Informal
translation icon : lata de cerveza
  • The party guests enjoyed their drinks while passing around a booze can filled with cold beer.

Examples

  • After a long week, she relaxed by cracking open a booze can while watching her favorite movie.

  • Too much booze can be very dangerous... memory blackouts... stuff like that...

    Fiction book (1992)
  • He opened a booze can and shared it with his friends at the picnic.

Synonyms

beer can
vsbooze can
23 1.0

A small metal container you open to drink beer

is an informal term used in casual speech rather than the neutral name
alcoholic beverage
vsbooze can
16 3.0

A drink that contains alcohol, like beer or wine

is an informal name for a specific container rather than a broad drink category
brewski
vsbooze can
  • Slang
7 9.9

An informal word for a bottle or can of beer

is used specifically for cans rather than bottles or other containers
tipple
vsbooze can
  • Archaic
2 9.8

A small amount of alcohol that someone drinks

refers to a packaged serving in a can rather than a small keg portion
tallboy
vsbooze can
  • Informal
1 5.1

A tall can of beer larger than a regular can

is more general and not limited to larger sizes
bevvy
vsbooze can
  • Slang
1 9.9

An alcoholic drink, usually a beer

refers to the container holding the drink rather than the drink itself
boose
vsbooze can
  • UK
9.9

A time when people drink alcohol together

refers to the container rather than the act or the drink

Surface Forms

booze can singular
booze cans plural

Morphology

booze + can

The phrase 'booze can' is compositionally built: 'booze' (alcohol) + 'can' (metal container) yields 'a can containing alcohol', so the meaning is directly derivable from its parts. The noun‑noun compounding pattern (X can = a can of X) is common and cross‑linguistically transparent; although informal register is signalled, that does not prevent comprehension at B1 if the constituents are known.

Etymology

Booze can joins the slang word booze, meaning 'alcoholic drink', with can, a metal drink container. Picture someone holding a cold metal can of beer at a picnic, and you see why it means 'a can with an alcoholic drink'.