Meaning & use
branch water
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Meaning
noununcountableAmericaninformal
Plain water taken from a small stream, or ordinary non-sparkling water, especially when it is stirred into a strong alcoholic drink.
Grammar: No plural and no article needed: he ordered bourbon and branch water.
Patterns
- something and branch water
- a glass of branch water
My grandfather always took his bourbon with a splash of branch water.
The old cabin had no tap, so we drank cold branch water straight from the creek.
She asked the bartender for a whiskey and branch water, just like in the old movies.
Common combinations
- bourbon and branch water
- He settled on the porch with a bourbon and branch water.
- whiskey and branch water
- The colonel's usual order was whiskey and branch water.
- cold branch water
- The hikers filled their bottles with cold branch water.
- a splash of branch water
- A splash of branch water opens up the flavor of the whiskey.
Synonyms and how they differ
- spring water
- Spring water comes from an underground source and is also sold in bottles, while branch water suggests a small creek and a rustic, regional style.
- creek water
- Creek water simply names the source, whereas branch water is the traditional phrase used when mixing a drink.
- plain water
- Plain water has no regional flavor at all, while branch water carries a Southern, old-fashioned tone.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: branch water or tree branch?
branch water vs tree branch
A tree branch is a limb of a tree; in branch water the word means a small stream, so the two have nothing to do with each other.
Practice
A traditional Southern bartender might serve whiskey with ____ to dilute it slightly.
Choose one answer.
Branch water is the fixed phrase for plain stream or tap water mixed into a drink. The other options reverse or change the words and are not used.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “branch water”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.