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Cocktail vs Highball - What's the difference?

cocktail | highball |

As nouns the difference between cocktail and highball

is that cocktail is a mixed alcoholic beverage while highball is a cocktail made from spirit plus soda water etc.

As an adjective cocktail

is festive; lively.

As a verb highball is

to make an estimate which tends toward exaggeration.

cocktail

English

(wikipedia cocktail)

Noun

(en noun)
  • A mixed alcoholic beverage.
    • They visited a pub noted for the wide range of cocktails they serve.
  • * 1806 , 13 May 1806 edition of Balance and Columbian Repository , published by Hudson, New York, (first appearance in print):
    • Cocktail is a stimulating liquor composed of spirits of any kind, sugar, water, and bitters — it is vulgarly called a bittered sling and is supposed to be an excellent electioneering potion, inasmuch as it renders the heart stout and bold, at the same time that it fuddles the head.
  • A mixture of other substances.
    • Scientists found a cocktail of pollutants in the river downstream from the chemical factory.
    a cocktail of illegal drugs
  • A horse, not of pure breed, but having only one eighth or one sixteenth impure blood in its veins.
    • (Darwin)
  • (UK, slang, dated) A mean, half-hearted fellow; a coward.
  • * Thackeray
    • It was in the second affair that poor little Barney showed he was a cocktail .
  • A species of rove beetle, so called from its habit of elevating the tail.

    • Synonyms

    * mixed drink

    Derived terms

    * atomic cocktail * ckt * cocktail cabinet game * cocktail dress * cocktail frank * cocktail frankfurt * cocktail frankfurter * cocktail lounge * cocktail party * cocktail sauce * cocktail sav * cocktail savaloy * cocktail shaker * cocktail stick * cocktail table * Molotov cocktail

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Festive; lively.
  • *
    • now the orchestra is playing yellow cocktail music and the opera of voices pitches a key higher.

    See also

    * swizzle * See also

    References

    * ----

    highball

    English

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A cocktail made from spirit plus soda water etc.
  • (rail transport) An all clear'' or ''full speed ahead signal.

    • Derived terms

    *highball glass

    Descendants

    * Japanese:

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To make an estimate which tends toward exaggeration.
    • If we highball the price, it comes out to $240. If we lowball it, it's closer to $200.
  • (slang, rare, or, erroneous) To move quickly; to hightail.

    • Antonyms

    * (estimate) lowball