package store

English

Etymology

From the state laws of Connecticut and Georgia which declare that purchased liquor must be in a sealed container or removed from the premises in a bag or other package.

Noun

package store (plural package stores)

1. (US) A retail store that sells alcoholic beverages, specifically one in which only sealed containers may be sold for consumption off the premises.

   Synonyms: packie (New England, slang), liquor store, off-licence (UK), offy (UK, slang), state store (US, regional)

   Hypernyms: store, shop < establishment; place

   • 2018, Tayari Jones, An American Marriage, Oneworld Publications, pages 153–154:

     It’s not like there was any shortage of booze in Eloe. There were package stores and churches every hundred feet.

Related terms

• packaged goods

Translations

liquor store — see liquor store

See also

• brown bag (verb)