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When beers in cans or bottles are banged together in rejoice of the company you're with, what is the action called?

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    a toast? merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toast (noun, definition 3) – Hellion Mar 12 '13 at 21:45
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    Welcome to English Language & Usage. Questions are expected to show considerable evidence of research and be of interest to language experts (professionals and enthusiastic amateurs). There may be some overlap with enthusiastic drinkers, but not necessarily. Thanks. – MetaEd Mar 13 '13 at 3:25
  • If it's vigorous enough, it can be called "wrist-drenching." – Sven Yargs Nov 2 '17 at 6:47
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They clinked their bottles. From thefreedictionary:

clink - make a high sound typical of glass; "champagne glasses clinked to make a toast"

Less commonly, they chinked bottles. All variants are often followed by the word together.

Because cans don't really make quite the same sound, I might say clunked or clonked or clanked instead if cans were involved. Those vowels suggest a somewhat lower note when struck together.

EDIT: clanked borrowed from @cynthia-hartwig's deleted answer. Can't think of everything!

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    Yes. You clink them, or clink them together. – MetaEd Mar 12 '13 at 21:51
  • @MετάEd: That would be visible to anyone who looked at the first page of Google Books results in the link, but you're right - I should explicitly mention it. – FumbleFingers Mar 12 '13 at 21:54
  • What if you've got shandy in plastic bottles? – Edwin Ashworth Mar 12 '13 at 22:04
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    @Edwin: Only Billy No Mates drinks shandy in plastic bottles, so the issue doesn't arise! :) – FumbleFingers Mar 12 '13 at 22:07
  • @FumbleFingers: indisputable logic. – Edwin Ashworth Mar 14 '13 at 12:11
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"They clanked beers" or "They clanked their tankards," along with the following toast:

For every wound, a balm.

For every sorrow, cheer.

For every storm, a calm.

For every thirst, a beer.

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  • I swiped "clanked" because the answer was deleted (I don't know why), and thus most people wouldn't be able to see it (you need quite a high rep score on SO to be able to see deleted answers). But it's a perfectly credible usage - witness half-a-dozen written instances of {they} clanked cans {and drank}. So have an upvote in return for my plagiarism! – FumbleFingers Mar 13 '13 at 15:29
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    @FumbleFingers: I'll clank to that.... – J.R. Mar 14 '13 at 0:30
  • @J.R, Cynthia: chin-chin!. I would have said chink-chink, but I've just discovered from that link it may have a Chinese origin anyway, so I'm leery of pejorative overtones I never previously knew about. – FumbleFingers Mar 14 '13 at 0:39
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    @FumbleFingers chin-chin also happens to be Japanese slang for penis :) – coleopterist Mar 15 '13 at 4:38
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A cheers: "a drinking toast,"

or

a toast: "The act of raising a glass and drinking in honor of or to the health of a person or thing."

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  • Please add the relevant definitions to your answer. – coleopterist Mar 13 '13 at 4:35

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