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liquor license

liquor license

16 3.8
Official permission to sell alcoholic drinks
  • noun
  • /ˈlɪkər ˈlaɪsəns/
  • Formal
translation icon : licencia de bebidas alcohólicas
  • To legally sell alcohol, you must first obtain a liquor license from the local government.
  • liquor license renewal
  • liquor license request
  • get a liquor license

And interestingly, now that I remember this, I had to go and do a class to get, I think it was called a Class C liquor license.

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Examples

  • I was reading yesterday that over 90 establishments have liquor licenses in the vicinity of Adams Morgan.

    Blog text (9)
  • The state is threatening to take away her liquor license because she didn't shut down fast enough.

  • You got no liquor license on this place.

  • I helped him get his liquor license.

  • His name was on the liquor license.

  • The restaurant could lose its liquor license.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • In Oregon, all bars must serve food to maintain a liquor license.

    Blog text (19)
  • We don't have a liquor license.

  • All applicants for a liquor license have to get fingerprinted.

  • I disagreed with the decision to deny the Meat House a liquor license.

    Blog text (6)

Synonyms

on-license
vsliquor license
  • Specialized
7.9

Official permission to sell alcohol for people to drink in a bar or restaurant

permits sale of alcoholic beverages broadly rather than only for consumption on site

How Legal

liquor license
  • Formal
16 3.8
off-licence
  • UK
6.4
tavern
111 3.5
speakeasy
14 9.3
shebeen
  • South African
1 9.9

Surface Forms

Morphology

liquor + license

The meaning is directly compositional: 'liquor' (alcoholic drink) combined with 'license' (official authorization) yields an official permit related to alcoholic beverages. This compound noun follows a common noun+noun pattern and has clear cross-linguistic equivalents, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

The noun liquor license joins liquor, an old word for strong alcoholic drink, and license, a paper that gives 'permission'. Picture a shop owner holding that official paper from the town that lets them sell 'alcoholic drinks', and you see why the phrase means an official permit to sell alcohol today.