tend bar
Work the taps
To tend bar is to work as a bartender—serving drinks, mixing cocktails, and managing the bar area.
The phrase treats bar as the object being tended, like tending sheep or a garden: She tended bar to pay her way through law school.
The one-word form bartend is a back-formation from this phrase.
- bartendServe drinks professionally
- pourSend liquid streaming out
- neat pourUnmeasured drink from bottle
- draftsPreliminary written versions
- pintsSixteen-ounce volumes
serve · well drinks · regulars · shebeen · cocktails · shots · mixologist · muddler · jigger · spirits · bottle service · garnish · speakeasy · tipple · closing time · strainer · small talk · tip back