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Glite Dictionary
pony keg

pony keg

1 7.5
A small barrel of beer used to serve a few people
  • noun
  • /ˈpoʊni kɛɡ/
  • US
translation icon : barril pequeño
  • Most mini-fridges can hold a couple of Cornelius kegs, maybe even a pony keg.

Examples

  • Oh heck, a good pony keg—abs.

    Blog text (20)

  • For the party, we ordered a pony keg to serve all our friends.

  • He brought a pony keg of craft beer to celebrate the occasion.

  • At the picnic, we enjoyed drinks from the pony keg under the trees.

Synonyms

keg
vspony keg
57 2.0

A small barrel for storing and serving beer

is a small barrel used mainly for serving a few people
beer keg
vspony keg
2 3.0

A large metal or wooden barrel that holds beer to store and serve it

is much smaller and used mainly for serving small groups

How Big

beer barrel
1 2.7
keg
57 2.0
pony keg
  • US
1 7.5

Surface Forms

pony keg singular
pony kegs plural

Morphology

pony + keg

The meaning 'a small barrel for beer' is directly compositional: 'pony' functions as a diminutive meaning 'small' and 'keg' is a small barrel, so a learner who knows both words can infer 'small keg'. Although 'pony' has other senses (small horse or a small measure/glass), the modifier+noun pattern is regular and cross-linguistically transparent, making the expression predictable.

Etymology

Pony keg probably comes from a simple image: a pony is a small horse, so a keg with that name is a small barrel that one or two people can move. That's why it means 'a small barrel of beer for a few people'.