BYOB or BYO is an

initialism An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial letter of each word in all caps wi ...

and

acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...

concerning

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

("bring your own bottle"),

liquor Liquor ( , sometimes hard liquor), spirits, distilled spirits, or spiritous liquor are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through ethanol fermentation, alcoholic ferm ...

("bring your own booze"),

beer Beer is an alcoholic beverage produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches from cereal grain—most commonly malted barley, although wheat, maize (corn), rice, and oats are also used. The grain is mashed to convert starch in the ...

("bring your own beer"), or

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

("bring your own bud"). BYOB is stated on an invitation to indicate that the

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places * Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County * Host Island, in the Wilhelm Archipelago, Antarctica People * ...

will not be providing alcohol, and that guests should bring their own. Some restaurants and business establishments (especially in areas where

liquor license A liquor license (or liquor licence in most forms of Commonwealth English) is a governmentally issued permit for businesses to sell, manufacture, store, or otherwise use alcoholic beverages. Canada In Canada, liquor licences are issued by the l ...

s are difficult to obtain) allow patrons to bring their own bottle, sometimes subject to opening fees or membership conditions.

Etymology

Today, BYOB may mean "bring your own bottle" or "bring your own booze". BYOB is a later variant of the earlier expression, BYOL, meaning "bring your own liquor." The earliest known examples of BYOL appeared in two panels of a cartoon by Frank M. Spangler in the ''

Montgomery Advertiser The ''Montgomery Advertiser'' is a daily newspaper and news website located in Montgomery, Alabama. It was founded in 1829. History The newspaper began publication in 1829 as ''The Planter's Gazette.'' Its first editor was Moseley Baker. It be ...

'' (Montgomery, Alabama), December 26, 1915, page 5. The joke was that a man received an invitation with the mysterious letters "BYOL" in place of

RSVP RSVP is an initialism derived from the French phrase ''"",'' meaning "please respond" (literally "respond if it pleases you"). It is typically used to request confirmation of an invitation. Occasionally, the phrase "please RSVP" is used, which ...

. He looked up the initials in a "social directory" and learned that it stood for "Bring Your Own Liquor". Other early examples of the expression appeared in newspapers in

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

or stories relating to Alabama, suggesting that it may have originated there, perhaps coined by Spangler himself. At the time, Alabama had recently enacted a new statewide prohibition law prohibiting the sale, but not the consumption of alcohol, making it necessary to bring one's own alcohol. A variant of BYOB is BYOS, meaning "bring your own sugar". This was used in England and the United States amid wartime rationing during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and again in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Shortly after passage of the Eighteenth Amendment to the

United States Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, on March 4, 1789. Originally includi ...

prohibiting the sale of alcohol nationwide, a joke about BYOL replacing RSVP on formal invitations began circulating in newspapers across the country. The joke appeared as early as June 1919 in the Des Moines (Iowa) ''Daily News'', and was in wide circulation by the end of the year. BYOB appeared occasionally during the 1920s, and when defined was usually rendered as "bring your own booze", although "beer", "bottle" and "beverage" were all suggested on at least one occasion. BYOL was the dominant form of the expression until the 1950s. But when BYOB became more popular in the 1950s, it was regularly defined as "bring your own bottle", frequently in circumstances involving restaurants without liquor licenses. "Bring your own beverage" was in common use by the 1970s and was in wide circulation by the end of the year. In the 21st century, BYOF – "bring your own food" – appeared on the scene, referring to bars lacking full kitchens, encouraging patrons to bring their own food.

Corkage

Establishments that sell alcoholic beverages for on-site consumption, such as bars or

restaurants A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in app ...

, may also allow patrons to bring their own alcohol. That alcohol is usually subject to an ''opening fee''. Often the rule is limited to bottles of

, where the fee is known as ''corkage'' or a ''corking fee''.J. Robinson (ed) ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 117 & 200 Oxford University Press 2006 Such policies are greatly regulated by local liquor control laws and

licensing A license (American English) or licence ( Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another par ...

restrictions.

Bottle club

As an alternative to the traditional full-service liquor license, some jurisdictions offer a similar license known as a ''bottle club'' license. It allows the business establishment to serve alcohol on the premises, but only if patrons brought the alcohol from elsewhere. The license generally prohibits the business from selling its own stock of alcoholic beverages and may require that patrons be members of the establishment. Such licenses may be preferred in situations where fees or zoning conditions imposed by a full-service liquor license are unwanted or impractical. They may also be the only license available, as some jurisdictions impose full-service liquor license quotas or business class restrictions. In the United States, no license is required for private clubs that do not sell alcohol but allow patrons to bring their own. As obtaining a license to serve alcohol is complicated and expensive, and laws about what may happen on the premises are sometimes quite restrictive, strip clubs and other establishments providing some sexually-related service or environment often use a BYOB approach, sometimes announcing that they provide "mixers" (cocktail ingredients other than alcohol).

Regional variations

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, the term "BYO" (Bring Your Own) emerged to describe business establishments that offered corkage. It is believed that restaurants in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, in the state of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, were advertising as "BYO" establishments by the 1960s with the concept becoming popular in New Zealand in the late 1970s. Legally, using New Zealand as an example, if a premise only holds an on-licence-endorsed (BYOB license), an owner who is also a duty manager with a General Manager's Certificate is forbidden to have a wine list and sell alcohol on the premises. The owner must have both On-License & On-License-Endorsed to have a wine list and allow BYOB, thus calling the restaurant 'fully licensed'. In

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

whisky served at

banquets A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes inc ...

is often brought from home.

References

External links