Drinking Euphemisms
Years
ago I worked with a student teacher who – upon having to use the restroom –
would say, “Excuse me. I have to euphemize.” Though this post doesn’t
look at all the gloriously creative euphemisms for using the restroom (this
sentence contains one of the mildest ones available), it goes out to Peter
Sweeny.
The
word
euphemism first arrived in English in 1650. The original Greek form
meant to speak with fair words, or good speech. It comes from the Greeks’
understanding that speaking some words brought poor fortune. For instance, it
wasn’t considered wise to mention the Furies (known for their heartless
punishments of unavenged crimes) by name. Instead, they might be referred to as
the Gracious Ones. In modern tales,
we see this same phenomenon in JK Rowling’s Harry Potter series, in which the
stunningly evil antagonist is spoken of as he
who must not be named.
Ah,
the euphemism:
humanity’s tendency to
- say what we don’t mean in hopes of avoiding the possibility that we might be understood,
-
communicate to an intended audience while keeping others “on the outs”, or
-
avoid being offensive while saying something, well, offensive.
Some
fine euphemisms
for drinking include:
-to
lift an elbow
-to
have a snort
-to
fall victim to barley fever
-to
take one’s medicine
-to
enjoy a wee drop
-to
feed one’s kitty
-to
get a snootful
-to
enjoy a nip
-to
eat the pudding bag
If
a drinker over-imbibes & we intend to criticize, we might say s/he is:
-piffled
-schnozzled
-pie-eyed
-smashed
-tanked
-slopped
-frazzled
-het-up
-blotto
-noggy
-stewed
to the gills
-under
the table
Or
when we’d like to be less critical, we might say s/he:
-is
a little squiffy
-is
impaired
-is
in a difficulty
-is
in a rosy glow
-is
in a muddle
-is
making a night of it
-is
making a trip to Baltimore
-is
a bit ruddy-faced
-is
sotally tober
And
the morning after a bit of liquid debauchery, we might say s/he:
-has
flu-like symptoms
-is
under the weather
-is
suffering the wrath of grapes
-has
a Dutch headache
-has
a hair-ache
-has
the brown bottle flu
-has
an inexplicable headache
-has
hamster mouth
-is
wearing loud shoes
Do
any of you have a favorite drinking euphemism to add to the pot? Please do so
in the comments section.
My thanks go out to this week’s
sources: OED, Etymonline, Drunktionary, Wordnik, & Ralph
Keyes’ Euphemania
I don't think I'd heard the pudding one. I always liked "three sheets to the wind". I guess that's the one that results in being "under the weather." Then there is "driving the porcelain bus". I'll bet people will come up with some good ones for this. So many creative ways to say "suffering from alcohol poisoning."
ReplyDeleteThe euphemism I am most familiar with for drunk is "loaded". The day after, "had a bit too much fun". Pretty polite. Then, yes, the inevitable "hugging his porcelain friend". Again, pretty polite descriptions of what was most likely not very polite behavior.
ReplyDeleteHi Christine & Anne,
ReplyDelete"The pudding one" really cracks me up. I'm not sure quite how I missed including the porcelain friend/bus, as that one has always brought a chuckle. I think my favorite of the bunch is "Sotally Tober". It fits right in with, "Was I fiving too drast, Occifer?"
"Squiffy." Love it.
ReplyDelete