the.com/happy hour

capitalism's apology, served at half price between four and seven

means A period, usually in the late afternoon or early evening, when a bar or restaurant sells drinks and sometimes food at reduced prices.

from The phrase surfaced in U.S. Navy slang in the early 20th century, where a "happy hour" was a scheduled stretch of onboard entertainment — boxing, music, films — to break up the monotony of life at sea. By the mid-20th century it had drifted ashore and into bars, attaching itself to the cheap-drinks slot it owns today. The escape from tedium stayed; only the venue changed.

origin
US Navy slang for scheduled onboard entertainment
banned
illegal in Massachusetts, Indiana, and elsewhere
economics
bars profit by selling you a third drink
rarely an hour
often stretches two to four hours
prohibition era
speakeasy term for pre-dinner drinking
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