tallboy

[ tawl-boi ]

noun

1. English Furniture.
   1. a chest of drawers supported by a low stand. Compare highboy ( def ).
   2. a chest-on-chest.
2. a tall chimney pot.
3. a tall-stemmed goblet.
4. a 16- or 24-ounce (454- or 680-gram) can containing a beverage, especially beer.
5. Tallboy, Military. a 12,000-pound (5400-kilogram) British bomb of World War II, designed to penetrate the target or plunge deep into the ground before detonating.

tallboy

/ ˈtɔːlˌbɔɪ /

noun

1. a high chest of drawers made in two sections and placed one on top of the other; chest-on-chest
2. a fitting on the top of a chimney to prevent downdraughts

Word History and Origins

Origin of tallboy¹

First recorded in 1670–80; tall + boy

Word History and Origins

Origin of tallboy¹

C18: from tall + boy

Example Sentences

While these small Bluetooth speakers look like similar cylinders, stuffed burritos if that’s more your thing than tallboy beverages, the Flip 6 is a slightly weightier portable speaker than its predecessor, both physically and sonically.

From Popular-Science

More often than not, these spots were decorated with tallboy Twisted Teas and Bud Lights.

From Outside Online

There was no fireplace and no coal-scuttle, so I took off my right boot and put it in the bottom drawer of the tallboy instead.

From Project Gutenberg

Facing the window and the sunshine was a facsimile of the tallboy chest which I had coveted so fiercely two hours before.

From Project Gutenberg

But next morning, when they were dressing, what does the stranger do but carefully hang his breeches on the knobs of the tallboy!

From Project Gutenberg

The tallboy chest was standing alone in its dignity at the top of the broad staircase.

From Project Gutenberg

Something more nearly approaching the genuine "tallboy" is shown in the coloured frontispiece.

From Project Gutenberg

About This Word

What else does tallboy mean?

A tallboy refers to a larger can for a beverage, usually beer, that generally hold 16 or 24 ounces. The typical can in the U.S. is 12 ounces.

What are some variants of tallboy?

tall boy

What are some other words related to tallboy?

forty
six-pack
highboy
growler

Where does tallboy come from?

Tallboys probably make you think of a big can of beer you might pick up at a gas station or corner store, but the term actually has an older relationship to alcohol than you may have guessed.

In the late 1600s, a tallboy was a type of glass or goblet or big pot of wine. The larger-than-average-can-of-beer sense of tallboy, as you probably guessed, is much more recent. It’s recorded in the 1950s. These cans are comparatively tall, and boy is apparently is a playful way of referring to the manageably big object.

How is tallboy used in real life?

A typical can of beer in the United States holds 12 ounces. Any can larger than that, from 16 ounces on up is generally referred to as a tallboy for its thin, tall shape. This is how this word is used most often in the United States. People often buy tallboys one or two at a time at convenient stores, as opposed to ordering a pint at a bar or getting a six-pack.

It's a tallboy can kind-of-day. Which would you choose? pic.twitter.com/Ldj9QFfpVJ

— Baxter Brewing Co. (@baxterbrewing) May 4, 2020

We've added three new, tallboy mixed cases to our web shop 💪

✔️Tallboy Mixed Dozen – https://t.co/eIJfbax5Cl

✔️Big Boy Mixed Dozen – https://t.co/d2L1sY2EXt

✔️Tallboy IPA Mix – https://t.co/njERDIlcFA

Plus we've a new 440ml version of Take-Home Taproom COMING SOON🤯 pic.twitter.com/lFfRwUXsXZ

— Rooster's Brewing Co (@RoostersBrewCo) May 1, 2020

Other large cans of beverages, such as soft drinks, energy drinks, or alcoholic seltzers, can also be referred to as tallboys, owing to their above-average size.

Bwcoming drunk off kombucha tallboy it’s what i deserve

— xtiniwini (@xtiniwini) May 5, 2020

Also called a highboy, a tallboy is also the name for a type of large chest of drawers on legs. Historically these items of furniture were very beautiful and ornate. In Australia, the U.K., and elsewhere in the Commonwealth, a tallboy most likely refers to a tall chest of drawers.

Burr Walnut Tallboy c1900 £1250 https://t.co/kqEdFi4dS6 #burrwalnut #burrwalnutchest #antiquechestofdrawers #antique #tallboy #chestonchest pic.twitter.com/6hhauMz9wk

— Sussex Antiques (@drewjo1) March 8, 2017

One particularly famous Tallboy was a massive bomb used by the British in World War II; it was able to plunge into the ground before exploding. Like the cans and chest of drawers, it was named for its tall, slender shape.

More examples of tallboy:

“Trike drank a tallboy, sent the e-mail, and then went home.”
—Josh Cook, An Exaggerated Murder, 2015

“Legendary Hip-Hop artist Big Boi and Budweiser have tag-teamed for a limited-edition Big Boi Tall Boy 25 oz. can.”
—Shawn Grant, The Source, October 2019