red cups

Kegstand essential vessels

Red cups refers to the disposable plastic cups—typically bright red and sold in large quantities—that have become iconic symbols of American house parties, especially among college students.

The cups appear so consistently at keggers and beer pong games that they function as visual shorthand for casual drinking culture: The yard was littered with red cups the morning after.

Outside the U.S., red cups often evoke specifically American party scenes, familiar from movies and music.

Related

college · plastic · disposable · Toby Keith · country song · tailgate · tailgate party · frat · drinking games · party foul · stack · cheap · picnic · barbecue · punch · kegger · house party · ping pong balls

Categories
Opposites
formality of drinkware

red cupschampagne flutes

Tall narrow wine glasses

wine glasses · crystal glassware · stemware · porcelain cups

material/permanence

red cupsglassware

Drinking containers of silica

crystal glasses · stoneware · porcelain · bone china · hand-blown glass

cultural association

red cupstea service

Matching vessels for steeping

Family

red, cup, reds, redder, reddest, reddish, redden, redness, cups

Familiarity
Top 200,000
Profile
Known to kids · Mostly American · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G