fully-licensed restaurant

Question

At the moment, we've got a salad bar which is very popular. We'll also have a fully-licensed restaurant by the end of the year.What does "fully-licensed restaurant" mean?

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

john liaoWhat does "fully-licensed restaurant" mean?

It is permitted to serve wine, beer and other alcoholic beverages.

Thomas Tompion · Answer

In the UK you need a license to sell alcoholic drinks, so this means that your restaurant could sell alcoholic drinks.

I don't think the fully adds any meaning, though it might impress the ignorant.

ps. Cross-posted with Mr Micawber.

Mister Micawber · Answer

Thomas TompionI don't think the fully adds any meaning

That crossed my mind, but then I realized that in some countries there are different licenses for beer, wine and harder liquor. Some restaurants just have a beer license.

Thomas Tompion · Answer

Mister MicawberThat crossed my mind, but then I realized that in some countries there are different licenses for beer, wine and harder liquor. Some restaurants just have a beer license.

Legislation about alcohol licensing varies considerably across the English-speaking world. My point was that I couldn't easily find evidence that full was a technical term in the field, even where limited (eg. beer only, or with meals only) licenses were granted, as, for instance, in Texas. There the usual term seems to be "Mixed Drinks License". Maybe the term 'full license' is used loosely in such places but I couldn't find it in official license applications anywhere.

The term 'full license' is used generally, of course, in motoring law, in contrast to such things as 'provisional license' intended for learners. I couldn't find an example of the collocation 'full license' with places of entertainment on Google, but it is frequently associated with articles on driving and highway law.

My suggestion that the 'full' part of 'fully licensed' was pleonastic was based on the fact that the term was for a while commonly used in the UK by restaurants which wished to reassure potential clients that every type of alcoholic beverage would be available to them. In fact, in the UK, once an establishment has a license, then the type of drink it can serve to people is determined by general laws of the land; for instance, if you are 16 or 17 you may drink beer, wine, or cider, but not spirits, with a meal.

We were not given a date for the original quote, and, if this is a piece of writing about the UK, and dates before the Licensing Act 2003, things would have been different then. I still don't think that 'full license' has been a technical term with us in the last hundred years, though I've heard the expression often enough.

Philip · Answer

I see a distinct difference between the possible official term full license, which is not in general use, and a simple adverb to modify the adjective licensed. Fully licensed sounds completely normal, logical and understandable to me.

Thomas Tompion · Answer

PhilipI see a distinct difference between the possible official term full license, which is not in general use, and a simple adverb to modify the adjective licensed. Fully licensed sounds completely normal, logical and understandable to me.

I agree that it sounds completely normal. In British English these days, I'm not clear that the fully adds anything; that's what I was saying.

It's curious that in places where there are no such things as full licenses - as opposed to licenses - people should talk of restaurants being fully licensed, as opposed to being licensed, particularly as in many countries rules about drinking alcohol while buying and eating food are less strict than for those where food is not being consumed at the same time.

But then pleonasm is very much part of some people's language and in the language of self-projection I suppose the expression sounds grand, to some.

Anonymous · Answer

Fully-licensed restaurant

fully-licensed restaurant

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