You're listening to away with words, the show about language, and how we use it.

I'm Grant Barrett.

And I'm Martha Burnett. We heard from Kelly Hayes in Carson City, Nevada,

who says that she recently stopped drinking alcohol.

But she's irked by the term mocktail.

She says most other words to describe a beverage without liquor or negative.

So I'm looking for a positive phrase or word.

And Grant, I'm sort of irked by the word mocktail as well.

I mean, if you invite people over for an evening of mocktails,

I think somehow that suggests there'll be something missing.

When actually these drinks can be quite sophisticated and complex

and it end in themselves.

And I was surprised to learn that the word mocktail has been around since at least the 1930s.

But I'm wondering if other people would like an alternative to the word mocktail?

Yeah, I don't feel like they need a separate name.

For example, you can have artisanal sodas and they are outstanding.

An artisanal sodas come with high quality flavored syrups and high quality carbonated water.

And you add fruit to them and in a fancy glass.

And that's a heck of a drink.

And it's basically the equivalent of a mocktail.

But it doesn't need to be called a mocktail.

It's just a fantastic soda.

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