Australian Slang For Liquor Store (Helpful Content!)

The most common Australian slang terms for liquor store are “bottle-o” or simply “bottle-shop”. These are more or less universal across Australia and used by people of all generations. Other terms you may more rarely hear include things like “off-license” or “offy”.

Liquor stores tend to be a pretty common staple of just about any community, whether that’s in Australia, the U.S., or the U.K.

With that naturally comes a handful of slang terms to describe them, but in Australia, they’ve certainly found the ones that work and are running with them.

Let’s find out more.

In This Article

What do Australians call a liquor store?

Australians have a couple of different terms for a liquor store, but perhaps the most common is the “bottle-o”.

This is a simple, catch-all slang term for any kind of liquor store that you’ll hear used just about anywhere in Australia.

It is used by all generations of Australians and is by no means limited to the older generations, although at the same time, they are certainly the ones who have passed it down to the younger generations of today.

It has been in use for a long time, in other words, and is by no means a new slang term–this, in part, is the main reason for its popularity.

“Can you go down to the bottle-o and grab some vodka?” for example.

A very similar slang term for a liquor store in Australia is a “bottle shop”.

The sense is more or less identical to “bottle-o”, and there is not a great deal of difference in how the two terms are used.

Both are used by virtually all generations of Australians and while any given individual might prefer “bottle-o” to “bottle shop” or vice versa, there’s not necessarily anything in their demographics that might tell you that in advance.

They might even be used interchangeably by the same person.

“I’m just going to the bottle shop for some booze,” for example.

These two terms are the ones that are uniquely and quintessentially Australian and by far the ones you are most likely to hear used.

However, there are a few other terms you might hear for a liquor store in Australia.

“Off-license” is one of these, and while you might argue over whether this is slang, it’s certainly used in this way.

A shortened form of “off-license” is “offie” or “offy” and this is quite frequently used by Australians, although not nearly as much as “bottle-o”.

Where do we get these terms, then?

Why do Australians say “bottle-o”?

Though we don’t quite know for sure when this term started being used, this sort of slang is extremely typical of Australia.

Adding an “o” on to the end of a word in this case is what is called a “diminutive suffix”.

These kinds of suffixes can serve a variety of purposes, though usually, they are to indicate something is small or to show affection for it.

Now, you could certainly make your own interpretation of how such a slang term would be applied to a liquor store–people surely do love them, after all! In all likelihood, though, the idea was simply that a “bottle-o” was a small shop when compared with a supermarket or even a grocery store.

Liquor stores tend to be small, corner shop-style establishments.

So, this is the most likely origin.

Of course, most liquor also comes in bottles, so you simply take the thing they most commonly sell and add the diminutive suffix.

Why do Australians say “bottle shop”?

Bottle shop is an even simpler slang term to explain.

Again, though, we don’t really know when it started being used–presumably around the time that such shops first opened around the early to mid-20th Century.

Naturally, the idea is simply that they sell bottles to the exclusion of virtually all else.

We tend to think of “liquor store” as being something selling primarily hard alcohol like wine and spirits, but the term “bottle shop” can also refer to a beer store in Australia selling mostly beer.

Either way, it’s a perfectly natural term to use given what these shops sell.

Why do Australians say “off license”?

The term “off-license” is essentially a way of distinguishing a liquor store from a bar or restaurant.

A liquor store naturally needs a license to sell alcohol, but they also need specific licenses for whether they are going to sell it for consumption “on” or “off” the premises.

A bar, then, would have an “on-license”–a liquor store, on the other hand, would have an “off-license” as you are going to take it home.

That’s all there is to it, really; this term is far more common in Britain but has since spread to Australia.

Why do Australians say “offy”?

“Offy”, then, is simply a very natural shortening of “off-license”.

It is another example of a diminutive suffix, and Australians are perhaps even more fond of taking a word, shortening it down and then adding a “-y” sound at the end than they are an “-o” sound.

So, without a doubt, the most common terms you are to hear in Australia for a liquor store are either bottle-o or bottle shop.

It’s difficult to say which of these is the most common, as both are used very widely and even interchangeably by the same people.

“Bottle-o” is certainly more quintessentially Australian, and some might even say “bottle shop” is simply a more literal description of what they are.

Either way, both are used.

More in Australian Slang

Founder - @PollyWebster

Polly Webster is the founder of Foreign Lingo and a seasoned traveler with a decade of exploration under her belt.

Over the past 10 years, she has journeyed to numerous countries around the globe, immersing herself in diverse cultures, traditions, and languages.

Drawing from her rich experiences, Polly now writes insightful articles about travel, languages, traditions, and cultures, sharing her unique perspectives and invaluable tips with her readers.

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