What is "stengah"

n. (''in Malaya'') whisky and soda. From the Malay ''se tengah'' meaning ''one half''.

A stengah is a drink made from an equal measure of whisky and soda water, served over ice. It was a popular drink with British subjects in the early 20th century, in areas of the British Empire in Asia. In W. Somerset Maugham's short story The Book-Bag, he writes, "I told the amah to fetch the whiskey and syphon and I mixed her a good strong stengah and made her drink a little." The term derives from the Malay word for "half".