Arnold Palmer

noun

Ar·​nold Palm·​er ˈär-nᵊld-ˈpä-mər 

-ˈpäl-mər

: a cold beverage of iced tea mixed with lemonade

There are many shandies on the market, but not all are worth your time. Some are too sweet and lack any beer flavor. In this case, you might as well just drink an Arnold Palmer.

—Chris Osburn

"The idea for the combination struck me after a round of golf in the [California] desert in the early '60s," [Arnold] Palmer says. "I wanted something that would be refreshing and realized that lemonade would be a natural complement to iced tea, since most people add a lemon wedge to their tea." Word of this "invention" got around. "When I first started ordering the combination in Palm Springs," he explains, "a sharp waitress caught on that it was my regular drink after a round of golf and started calling it an Arnold Palmer. I guess the patrons started asking for it at restaurants, which helped the name spread."

—Ellen Ficklen

Examples of Arnold Palmer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The 1955 Masters went down in history not only for being Arnold Palmer’s debut at the tournament but also as the first where all 18 holes had phone service to aid in scoring. —Alan Blinder Doug Mills, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2024

O’Meara becomes the first player since Arnold Palmer in 1960 to win by closing with two consecutive birdies. 2009 — In Hameenlinna, Finland, the United States wins its second straight women’s World Hockey Championship title, beating Canada 4-1 behind defenseman Caitlin Cahow’s two goals. —Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 12 Apr. 2024

Get The Recipe 28 of 54 Spiked Arnold Palmer Spice up your party with this spirited version of the classic lemonade-sweet tea combo. —Southern Living Editors, Southern Living, 28 Mar. 2024

His eighth victory on the PGA Tour and second in a matter of days after a dominant win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational last week, Scheffler’s place as the dominant force in the men’s game is further cemented by an unprecedented defense of golf’s ‘fifth major’. —Jack Bantock, CNN, 17 Mar. 2024

The Comcast accelerator begins on March 4 in Florida, where during that week the startups’ founders will gain access to Universal Studio, Daytona International Speedway and the Arnold Palmer Invitational PGA Tour event. —Tim Casey, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2024

The names on the card: Frank Beard, Tony Jacklin and Arnold Palmer. —Kirk Kenney, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Jan. 2024

The tournament came to the area near Branson as a result of a collaboration between Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris and three of the game’s top starts, Tom Watson, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. —Tom Smith, Kansas City Star, 24 Jan. 2024

Notably, Spirit is the only commercial airline to service Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. —Justin Klawans, theweek, 22 Jan. 2024

Word History

Etymology

after Arnold Palmer †2016, American professional golfer, who is alleged to have favored the drink

First Known Use

1991, in the meaning defined above