Meanings
- derogatoryhumorousuncountableCheap, inferior sherry.
A couple of literary luncheons went sugar-tipsy to their heads, like the washing sherry served before those luncheons[…]
1945, Dylan Thomas, Quite Early One Morning1 more example
I could spend half my evenings, if I wanted, / Holding a glass of washing sherry, canted / Over to catch the drivel of some bitch / Who's read nothing but Which[…]
1971, Philip Larkin, Vers de Société
Origin
Alteration of the more neutral cooking sherry
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
washing sherry. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/washing%20sherry
“washing sherry.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/washing%20sherry. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “washing sherry,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/washing%20sherry.
Source: washing sherry on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.