Walktail is a combination of “walk” and “cocktail” and it means to go for a walk while drinking a cocktail. It’s not a new word but it became popular during the early days of the pandemic. It appeared in Cambridge Dictionary’s blog as a possible new word for August 2020.
Walktail: a cocktail that you drink while you walk
For those on a budget, the walktail can just as easily be made at home. Kummer also added that it offers an additional outlet for of-age adults to socialize while maintaining a safe distance. “It’s another way of meeting your neighbors, keeping social distance, and having a drink,” he said.
On June 25, 2020 an article entitled “The Best New Words Invented in the COVID-19 Era” was published on the Dandelion Chandelier website and gave the following definition for Walktail:
What was once considered against the law is now the hot new social event. Especially popular amongst suburban moms, it is the act of going for a walk while drinking alcohol from an open container.
Murphy
Most bars were closed during lockdown and indoor and outdoor gatherings were discouraged but some restaurants and bars offered drinks to go for pickup. The canned cocktail became popular during the pandemic since they “they’re easily transportable, naturally portion controlled, require no extra ingredients or bottle opener to enjoy” (Dickinson). The best thing about canned cocktails is they have a longer shelf life. A word of caution though – canned cocktails are illegal in some parts of the United States and they may not be available everywhere.
Mike Seeler, editor for the New York Times, acknowledged that “with both bars and gyms closed, such drinking and walking – or “walktailing” – has been occurring at a seemingly unprecedented rate.” He relates the experience of Pam LeBlanc who found her own unique way of walktailing:
Earlier this month, as the state of Texas was about to ease its stay-at-home restrictions, Pam LeBlanc pulled her wedding dress out of a vacuum-sealed box, put it on for the first time in 21 years, poured herself a glass of prosecco, strapped on some heels, walked out of her house in Austin, and began twirling in the middle of the street.
She’d been doing some version of this for about 40 days, a period during which she and most Americans were unable to hunker down at their favorite watering hole and let a professional bartender pour them a drink.
“I decided that every day we were going to shelter in place, I was going to put on some kind of dress and go out in the street with a cocktail,” said Ms. LeBlanc, 56, an outdoorsy freelance journalist not normally given to swanky garb. “It was my way of flipping off the coronavirus.”
Seeler
During the pandemic some restaurants, such as Grand Rapids Eastern Kille Distillery, offered cocktail kits for pickup so you could enjoy a walktail made with fresh ingredients.
Social Media Trends as of June 2, 2023
Surprisingly, walktail does not appear much on social media sites although it does appear in news articles.
Google Trends: walktail predates the pandemic and first appeared in 2005. The popularity of the term peaked
Sources:
13onyourside.com channel. “Eastern Kille offering cocktail kits amid COVID-19 pandemic.” YouTube. April 6, 2020. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xocaCpV9iM8.
Dickinson, Grace. “Here’s where to get canned cocktails at restaurants and bars in Philadelphia.” The Philadelphia Inquirer. May 12, 2021. URL: https://www.inquirer.com/philly-tips/canned-cocktails-philadelphia-20210512.html.
Murphy, Julie. “The Best New Words Invented in the COVID-19 Era.” Dandelion Chandelier. June 25, 2020. URL: https://www.dandelionchandelier.com/2020/06/25/new-words-coronavirus-era/.
“New words – 31 August 2020.” Cambridge.org. 31August 2020. URL: https://dictionaryblog.cambridge.org/2020/08/31/new-words-31-august-2020/.
playful_comic. “Walktail” meme. iFunny.com. 21 Jul 2020. URL: https://ifunny.co/picture/walk-tail-wok-tal-noun-when-you-can-t-go-pDo8Woqp7.
Seeler, Mike. “Slosh! Slurp! Welcome to the ‘Walktail’ Party.” New York Times. May 20, 2020. URL: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/20/style/cocktails-to-go.html.