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A yard (or yard glass) is a
very long glass used for drinking beer; a yard (or
yard of ale) also refers to the (variable) quantity of
beer held by such a glass.
The glass is approximately 1
yard long (hence the name), and
holds very approximately 3 imperial
pints (1.7
litres) of
liquid. The glass is shaped with a
bulb at the bottom, and a widening shaft which comprises
most of the height. Because the glass is so long and in any
case does not usually have a stable flat base, it is hung on
the wall when not in use.
Drinking a yard glass full of beer is
effectively a traditional
pub game. The object is to drink
the entire glassful without pausing for breath, and/or to
drink it as quickly as possible. The tradition is most often
associated with drunken and disorderly tomfoolery in
party-like environments.
England
The glass most probably originated in
17th-century
England where the glass was known
also as a "Long Glass", a "Cambridge Yard (Glass)" and an "Ell
Glass"
[1]. Such a glass was a testament
to the
glassblower's skill as much as the
drinker's. The diarist and Fellow of the Royal Society
John Evelyn records the formal yet
festive drinking of a yard of ale toast to
James II at Bromley in Kent, 1683.
Yard glasses can still be found hanging on
the walls of some English pubs, though they are rarely used
nowadays.
The fastest drinking of a yard of ale
in the
Guinness Book of Records is 5
seconds: Peter Dowdeswell of Earls Barton, Northamptonshire,
England, drank a yard of ale containing 2 imperial pints
(1.14 liters or 1.20 U.S. quarts) in 5 seconds at RAF Upper
Heyford, Oxfordshire on
May 4,
1975.
[2]
Australia
The yard glass has had a significant
affect on Australian
drinking and
popular culture. The ritual of the
yard-glass sculling competition (who can empty the contents
of the glass the fastest) is predominant in, but not
restricted to,
Australian "bogan"
culture. It is also popular among university students. |
