British Slang For Alcohol (Explained!)

The most common British slang term for alcohol is booze. This is the most widely used, generic term for alcohol. You also have more specific terms like “bevvy” which usually refers to beer or cider. Some British people also use the term “sauce” to refer to alcohol, usually in terms of large quantities.

Booze is by far the most universal and commonly used British slang term for alcohol.

Most other slang terms are much more specific and refer to specific kinds of drinks or even alcohol in more specific contexts.

Let’s find out more.

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What do the British call alcohol?

The most widely used, all-purpose slang term for alcohol in Britain is “booze”.

Booze

This one may not be unique to Britain, but it is extremely common and perhaps the only widely used slang term which refers to alcohol as a whole.

The finest wine down to the cheapest, store-brand beer is all booze.

If you want to go out and get really drunk you can get out “on the booze”, or if you want a quiet night in you can still get some booze in for a quiet one at home.

At the same time, there is a variety of other slang terms for more specific kinds of booze, or for more specific kinds of contexts in which you’re drinking it.

Example in a sentence: “Let’s get some booze from the shop and get blind drunk!”

Bevvy

“Bev” or “bevvy” is perhaps the next most common one that you’ll hear used.

This is a shortened form of “beverage”, and most commonly refers to beer and cider.

It’s not something you would generally use to refer to wine or spirits, though this is not unheard of.

Example in a sentence: “Do you fancy a bevvy or two after work?”

Tipple

The more common slang term to refer to stronger drinks like wine, spirits or cocktails is “tipple”.

This perhaps skirts the edges of slang since it is so common and refers so specifically to a certain kind of alcohol.

Not only is it more limited to stronger drinks, it’s also the kind of thing you might say if you were just having one or two.

Example in a sentence: “I’ll just have a little tipple then head home.”

Sauce

Another one that you’ll sometimes hear is “sauce”.

Sometimes, alcohol is referred to as sauce usually within the context of binge drinking.

When someone has gotten very drunk, you might say they are “lost in the sauce”.

This one is used in the U.S. as well as Britain.

The “sauce” is obviously alcohol, so some take the word itself just to mean alcohol regardless of the context.

Example in a sentence: “Barry has had a hard day at work so he’s on the sauce tonight!”

Why do the British say booze?

Where do we get the most common British slang term for alcohol, then?

Unsurprisingly, it’s a very old term steeped in history. It ultimately derives from the Middle Dutch world busen, a verb meaning “drink to excess”.

That was then transmitted through to Middle English where it became bouse, which meant essentially the same thing.

It was still a verb.

The modern spelling of booze comes from some time in the 18^th Century, as far as we can tell.

British Slang For Alcohol — An 18th Century drinking cup.

Again, it was still not quite in its modern sense yet. It was now an adjective, meaning “inebriated” or very drunk.

This somewhat fell out of use again until it was picked up in the early 20^th Century when it finally settled on its noun form of “booze” meaning the alcohol itself.

Since then, it has spread to virtually every corner of the English-speaking world and is, without doubt, the most common universal slang term for alcohol in Britain.

Do the British say “bevvy”?

The British do indeed say bevvy, though it’s more of a specific term than just alcohol.

As I said, generally “bevvies” is the kind of thing young men say when they are going out to the pub for a few pints.

It’s usually reserved for beer and cider, and is not something you’ll hear used in any context.

The gender distribution is interesting, as it does seem it is far more likely to be a term used by men than women.

By extension, at least in people’s minds, men are more likely to drink beer or cider.

So, the British do say bevvy, but there are a couple of caveats to that.

You probably wouldn’t use the term “bevvy” to refer to going out for cocktails, or for having a neat glass of whiskey.

What else do the British call booze?

Sherbet

One other slang term you may hear in Britain for alcohol is “sherbet”.

This one is not quite as common as it once was, and is quite a lot more regionally specific than most of the other slang terms on this list.

You’re more likely to hear this in the south, particularly in London, than you are anywhere else.

Again, this one is most commonly used to refer to beer.

However, it can be more versatile than that and used in a wider variety of contexts.

Vino

In some cases, you might hear British people refer to wine as “vino”.

In Romance languages like French, Spanish and Italian, “vino” is simply the word for wine, so it has been taken on as a slang term in British English.

There is certainly no shortage of slang terms for booze, then, in British English.

That said, most of them tend to be very subtly specific.

Beer is one of the nation’s favorite drinks, unsurprisingly, so there are many slang terms which refer specifically to beer or adjacent drinks like cider.

“Tipple” might be used less commonly to refer to something like a cocktail or neat spirit.

In any case, booze is a good catch-all.

More in British 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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