The standard New Zealand and South African English term for a liquor store or off-licence — the kind of shop where you pick up beer, wine, and spirits to take home. In New Zealand it's so deeply embedded in everyday vocabulary that most people have never thought to question it. South Africans use it with equal casualness. The name comes from the historic practice of buying bottled alcohol separately from general groceries, and it remains the default word in both countries today.
We need to stop at the bottle store before the party — we're completely out of wine.
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(New Zealand, South Africa) A liquor store.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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