What it means
Beer or lager topped up with lemonade, usually half-and-half, so it’s lighter, sweeter and easier to neck on a hot day. Proper pub order when you’re pacing yourself or you’ve got to drive. As a wind-up, calling someone a shandy drinker is basically saying they’re soft or playing it safe instead of having a real pint. Mild insult, mostly.
Usage examples
"I’ll grab a shandy, cheers. Gaz starts, Oi shandy drinker, what’s next, a straw? Chill mate, I’m driving later tonight."
"It's roasting out, I'll just have a shandy and sit in the garden."
"Too hot for a full lager, mate. Get us a shandy and let me keep my head on straight."
"He ordered a shandy and the lads started giving him grief, but he was the only one not hanging by midnight."
"I'm not getting leathered in this heat, mate. Pint of shandy and I'm sweet."
Where it comes from
Shandy is the everyday short form of shandygaff, a British and Irish drink name that's been around since the 1800s. Back then it meant beer mixed with ginger beer or another fizzy soft drink. Over time, shandy stuck as the normal pub word for beer or lager cut with lemonade.
Editors of this term
Magical Silence Tailor Official watcher of this expression
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