Phrase guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
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noun
A liquor store selling wine and spirits (but not beer), run by an administrative board of the state government.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Pennsylvania, informal
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
So named because for many decades the state maintained a monopoly on the retail sale of bottled liquor and wine (i.e., as packaged goods, in contrast with those served in a glass at a bar or restaurant); those are the only consumer products that are sold in stores run by the state. Meanwhile, bottled and canned beer was long sold only by a dedicated class of merchants (called beer distributors). Today some grocery stores in the state sell wine and beer, but liquor (spirits) in particular remains a state monopoly at the state store.
