Meaning & use
shandies
Last updated
“shandies” is a form of “shandy”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meaning
nounpluralBritish
Plural of shandy: drinks made by mixing beer with fizzy lemonade or a similar soft drink, giving a light, low-alcohol taste.
Grammar: Plural of the countable noun shandy: two shandies, please.
Patterns
- order shandies
- a round of shandies
Two shandies for the drivers, please.
We drank cold shandies in the pub garden all afternoon.
The bar sells shandies made with local ale and ginger beer.
Word forms
| singular | shandy |
|---|
Common combinations
- order shandies
- They ordered shandies because they had a long drive ahead.
- a round of shandies
- He bought a round of shandies for the whole team.
- cool shandies
- Cool shandies were served on the terrace.
- lemon shandies
- The cafe is known for its lemon shandies in summer.
Synonyms and how they differ
- radlers
- This is the German-origin name for beer mixed with lemon soda, and it is now common on bottled drinks.
- beer cocktails
- This is a broad phrase for any drink using beer, so it is less specific than shandies.
- lager tops
- This is a British phrase for lager topped with lemonade, a close cousin of shandy.
Word family
Commonly confused: shandies or shanties?
shandies vs shanties
Shanties are traditional sailors' work songs, and the word is pronounced differently from shandies.
Practice
Which is the best description of shandies?
Choose one answer.
Shandies mix beer with a sweet fizzy drink. Songs sung by sailors are shanties, a similar-looking word.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “shandies”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.