beer-engine
Definition
- Noun:
- A device for drawing beer: A "beer-engine" is a mechanical apparatus, typically a hand-operated pump, used to draw beer from a cask or keg in a pub or bar, especially in British contexts.
Usage Examples
- Noun:
- The bartender used the beer-engine to pull a pint of ale for the customer. (A hand pump to draw beer from a cask.)
- The old pub still has a traditional brass beer-engine on the counter. (The mechanical device for serving beer.)
Advanced Usage
- "to work the beer-engine": to operate the pump to serve beer.
- He learned how to work the beer-engine during his first week as a barman. (He learned to use the hand pump for serving beer.)
Variants and Related Words
Beer pump (n): a synonym for beer-engine, often used interchangeably.
- The beer pump was broken, so they had to use bottled beer instead. (The mechanical device for drawing beer.)
Hand pump (n): a general term for a manually operated pump, including a beer-engine.
- The hand pump on the bar needed maintenance. (The manual pump for liquids.)
Synonyms
- Beer pump: a device for drawing beer from a cask.
- Hand pump: a manually operated pump for liquids.
Related Idioms
Pull a pint: to operate a beer-engine to serve a pint of beer.
- He can pull a perfect pint every time using the beer-engine. (He serves beer expertly with the hand pump.)
On the pump: referring to beer served directly from a cask via a beer-engine.
- This ale is on the pump, not from a bottle. (Beer drawn from a cask using the hand pump.)