Wino (slang term)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For other uses of the word Wino, see Wino.
Wino is a slang term used to describe people who consume large amounts of cheap wine and sometimes applied to consumers of other forms of alcohol beverages. Wine, especially fortified "bum wine" is the drink of choice for poor alcoholics due to its high alcohol content, availability and cheap price. Most commonly, the term is applied to bums and homeless people who spend money on liquor.
A common, stereotypical image of a wino is that of a disheveled caucasian skid row bum drinking cheap wine from a bottle concealed within a paper bag.
A person of other social classes may use the word to humorously describe themselves especially if they consume large amounts of wine. Some people who are well-off may extend the idea by using the homophone wineaux, to refer to wine connoisseurs, though most-commonly in print (so as not to be confused with the word 'wino'). [1]
Napa Valley, a region in California that produces wine once had a pirate radio station which used WINO as its unofficial call letters. [2]
