ServSafe Alcohol® Online Course Glossary

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Absorption: Amount of alcohol that has passed into the bloodstream.

BAC Estimation Chart: A reference tool that can be used to approximate an individual's BAC based on the number of drinks consumed over time.

Blood Alcohol Content (BAC): Amount of alcohol that has been absorbed into the bloodstream, expressed as a percentage.

Carbohydrates: Starches that are quickly digested and therefore less effective in slowing the movement of alcohol from the stomach to the small intestine.

Citation, Liquor: Notice of liquor law violation issued by police or liquor authority to server, owner, and/or establishment.

Criminal liability: Being held responsible for committing a crime. Servers can be held criminally liable for violating state, county, or municipal alcohol service laws, particularly for serving someone under 21 years of age or serving someone who is intoxicated.

Civil liability: Being held responsible for payment of damages for injuring a person. Servers can be sued and forced to pay damages if their actions or lack of care while serving alcohol lead to an injury.

Designated driver: Guest within a group of drinkers who agrees not to consume alcohol and will drive for the other guests.

Dram shop laws: Laws that allow an establishment and its owners and employees to be sued by someone injured by a patron who had been drinking alcohol at the establishment.

Drink: Any beverage containing the equivalent of 1/2 oz. of pure alcohol.

DWI: Driving while intoxicated.

Fake ID: An illegal identification card that has been falsified to allow an underage individual to purchase and consume alcohol.

Ghost photo image: Faint copy of the ID owner's photo added to the ID as a security feature.

Hologram: Three-dimensional image visible when the ID is tilted. It may also change color or shape when the ID is held at an angle.

Hours of service: Legal hours when alcohol may be sold or served, as listed on the liquor license.

Identification, acceptable: Types of identification that are legally allowed to confirm a guest's age, varying by state and municipality.

ID checking guide: Reference used to validate IDs. It includes samples of each state's drivers' licenses and a detailed description of minor IDs, state ID cards, and valid drivers' licenses in current circulation.

ID reader: Device used to verify IDs by reading information encoded in an ID's bar codes or magnetic stripes.

Illegal activities: Activities that may occur on the premises that are against the law and which, if not reported, may jeopardize the establishment's liquor license.

Impaired judgment: Lessening of the ability to make sensible decisions. This may be a behavioral sign of intoxication.

Impaired motor coordination: Lessening of physical coordination or ability. This may be a physical sign of intoxication.

Incident report: Document that lists the facts of an incident and explains what actions were taken.

Inhibition: Restrains or suppresses a person's emotions, actions, or thoughts.

Lamination: Plastic film enclosing many licenses and IDs.

Liability: A legal responsibility.

Liqueurs and cordials: Alcoholic beverages which vary in alcohol content from 15 to 30%.

Liquor authority: State or municipal agency that enforces alcohol regulations and licensing laws.

Liver: Organ responsible for breaking down alcohol in the body at a constant rate of about one drink per hour.

Minor: In reference to legal beverage alcohol service, an individual under the age of 21.

Minor ID: Identification containing special features issued by states to individuals under 21 years of age.

Mixed drink: Drink which may contain more than one liquor with different proofs.

Proof: Measure of a liquor's strength. The percentage of alcohol in a liquor can be determined by dividing its proof in half.

Relaxed Inhibitions: Lessening of an individual's normal restraint, allowing the person to say or do things he or she normally would not. This may be a behavioral sign of intoxication.

Slowed reaction time: Slowing of physical responses and actions. This may be a physical sign of intoxication.

Small intestine: Organ from which the majority of consumed alcohol is absorbed into the bloodstream.

Standard measure: Serving size that contains 1/2 ounce of alcohol and constitutes one drink, such as 5 ounces of domestic wine, 12 ounces of domestic beer, 1 1/2 ounces of 80-proof liquor, and 1 ounce of 100-proof liquor. Some beers, flavored malt beverages, and wines have a higher alcohol content and therefore, must be counted differently than these standard measures.

State liquor codes: Laws governing the sale and service of alcohol.

Third-party liability: Allows a plaintiff (the victim) to hold an establishment, its owners, managers, and employees responsible for damages caused by a guest who had been drinking at the establishment, even if the plaintiff had never entered the establishment. Also known as "dram shop law."

Tolerance: Drinker's ability to endure the effects of alcohol without exhibiting signs of intoxication.

Valid ID: A legally accepted form of identification that is current, intact, and that contains the owner's photo, birth date and signature.

Violation, Liquor Law: Breaking a state, county, or municipal law related to the sale or service of alcohol.

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