Crossword Dictionary

tankard

tankard - n 
large drinking vessel with one handle 

wordplays

Tankards are tall beer mugs with a handle and a hinged lid. The unlidded variety may also be referred to as tankards, or simply ‘mugs’. The phrase ‘getting tanked’ is thought to have originated from these drinking vessels, which seem oversized by modern beer glass standards.

wishfuldrinking.co.uk 

Tankards are usually made of silver or pewter, but can be made of other materials, for example wood, ceramic or leather. A tankard may have a hinged lid, and tankards featuring glass bottoms are also fairly common. Tankards are shaped and used similarly to beer steins.

The word "tankard" originally meant any wooden vessel (13th century) and later came to mean a drinking vessel. The earliest tankards were made of wooden staves, similar to a barrel, and did not have lids. A 2000-year-old wooden tankard of approximately four-pint capacity has been unearthed in Wales.

wikipedia