punch bowl

American  

noun

1. a large bowl from which punch, lemonade, etc., is served, usually with a ladle.

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Etymology

Origin of punch bowl

First recorded in 1685–95

Example Sentences

Martin would later coin the phrase that it was the Fed’s job to “take away the punch bowl just as the party gets going.”

From The Wall Street Journal

In an era of increasingly coy, event-specific signature cocktails — and the quiet pressure of an open bar — there’s something deeply charming about a punch bowl.

From Salon

Is Wall Street ready to have the proverbial punch bowl taken away?

From The Wall Street Journal

Is Wall Street ready to have the proverbial punch bowl taken away?

From The Wall Street Journal

The Fed’s job, former Chair William McChesney Martin famously said, is to take the punch bowl away just as the party gets going.

From The Wall Street Journal