whiskey sour
5
5.0
- noun
- /ˈwɪski saʊər/
- US
:
whiskey sour
- We were sitting on towels in the sun, trying to get a tan and drinking whiskey sours.
- sipping a whiskey sour
- drinking a whiskey sour
- order a whiskey sour
Examples
-
A few minutes later, I was standing in the Theatre Bar on Forty-fifth Street sipping a whiskey sour.
Fiction book (1998) -
At the party, everyone was enjoying their whiskey sours on the rocks.
-
- Excuse me, I ordered a whiskey sour.
-
Would you be kind enough to order me a whiskey sour?
-
Can I get a whiskey sour, please?
-
- Ah, whiskey sour, please.
-
And bring me a whiskey sour.
Fiction book (1999) -
Waitress, can we get another whiskey sour?
-
They make a mean whiskey sour.
-
Here's your whiskey sour.
How Diluted
3
2.6
- US
5
5.0
- US
1
3.9
- Jargon
9
7.6
15
6.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is directly compositional: a B1 learner who knows 'whiskey' (a spirit) and 'sour' (a taste or the name of a style of cocktail made with citrus and sugar) can infer this is a whiskey-based sour-style cocktail made with citrus and sugar. The pattern (spirit + 'sour') is transparent and common cross-linguistically, so the meaning is predictable from the parts.
Etymology
Whiskey sour: The name whiskey sour comes from a simple, literal idea: mixing whiskey with lemon or lime makes a sour taste. Drinks that mix an alcohol with citrus and sugar were called 'sours', so the whiskey sour is simply the 'sour' made with whiskey, meaning that particular cocktail.