Definition

Noun: A drink, typically alcoholic, offered to a guest, especially a rider on horseback, as a farewell gesture at the moment of their departure.

Usage

The term is used to describe a specific tradition of hospitality. It refers to the final drink given to a departing rider, historically while they were already in the saddle with their foot in the stirrup, ready to leave.

Examples

• The host brought out a stirrup cup of brandy for his guest before the long ride home.
• As a final gesture of goodwill, she offered the hunters a stirrup cup at the stable door.
• The tradition of the stirrup cup is often observed at the end of a formal hunt.

Advanced Usage

• The phrase can be used metaphorically to describe any final, parting refreshment or gesture before a journey or departure, though this is less common.
  • Before we closed the deal, he bought me a stirrup cup at the airport bar.

Variants and Related Words

• Parting cup: A more general synonym for a farewell drink.
• Stirrup: (noun) The loop or ring for a rider's foot on a saddle. This is the component from which the term 'stirrup cup' derives.

Synonyms

• Farewell drink
• Parting glass
• One for the road (idiomatic, informal)

Related Idioms

• One for the road: An informal idiom meaning a final alcoholic drink before leaving.
  • Unlike the formal stirrup cup, "one for the road" is a casual suggestion among friends.

Noun

1. a farewell drink (especially one offered to a horseman ready to depart); usually alcoholic