drinking-up time
noun /ˌdrɪŋkɪŋ ˈʌp taɪm/
/ˌdrɪŋkɪŋ ˈʌp taɪm/
[uncountable] (British English)- (in Britain in the past) the time between when a pub stopped serving drinks and when it closed, when people were legally allowed to finish drinks that they bought earlier. Since 2005 drinking-up time has no longer had a legal meaning.