Sloshed, plastered and gazeboed: why Britons have 546 words for drunkenness

[Crossy]

Combine ribald humour with peculiar sentence construction and a genuinely horrifying drinking culture, and what do you get? A dictionary’s worth of ‘drunkonyms’

Name: Drunkonyms.

Age: As old as alcohol itself.

 

Quantity: 546.

I’m not entirely sure I know what a drunkonym is. Let me help you out. The Sámi people of northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia are said to have more than 300 words for snow. For example, “Åppås” means untouched winter snow, “Säásj” refers to old snow that has become loose and coarse and “Tsievve” is snow that has become so hard that not even reindeer can dig through it.

This is fascinating, but what’s your point? My point is that, just as the Sámi have hundreds of words for snow, British people have hundreds of words for “drunk”. Five-hundred and forty-six, in fact.

This sounds like an exaggeration. Fine, I’ll list them. Pissed. Sloshed. Stewed. Wrecked. Hammered. Bladdered. Plastered. Mullered. Pickled. Bevvied. Rubbered. Tanked. Cock-eyed. Zombied. Blootered. Trolleyed. Rat-arsed. …

 

Read More https://www.theguardian.com/food/2024/feb/20/sloshed-plastered-and-gazeboed-why-britons-have-546-words-for-drunkenness

 

Important Note: - The image is not me

 

 

7360.avif

[novacova]

I like to use the term “slosh bucket” 

[Crossy]

An off-topic post has been removed.

 

[richard_smith237]

This thread is going to be Cat-Nip for a handful of our more prolific 'friends of the realm' !!! 

 

One of my favourites is 'bat-faced'..  no idea how or from where it originates. 

 

I've always liked the French signal to indicate one is three-sheets-to-the-wind, with the hand in front of the face in twisting motion as if 'winding up the nose'... 

 

 

I think in reality - the Brits have a way of replacing an adjective within an sentence of context with almost any other adjective and it can mean the same thing...     Toasted for example...    or cooked, or even made up words... staggerwhaked, tippsyfuddled, splooshed, blurfed...    its endless... 

 

.... "He was absolutely blurfed"... 

 

The 546 words... are more an indication of the versatility of the English language rather than any indication of its nationals to 'drink to extremes' although some will naturally want to take that path of discussion as suits their agenda.

 

 

 

Edited June 10 by richard_smith237

[OneMoreFarang]

If I would have to live under those conditions over there, I would also be "Pissed. Sloshed. Stewed. Wrecked. Hammered. Bladdered. Plastered. Mullered. Pickled. Bevvied. Rubbered. Tanked. Cock-eyed. Zombied. Blootered. Trolleyed. Rat-arsed." every day.

 

 

[Crossy]

2 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

If I would have to live under those conditions over there, I would also be "Pissed. Sloshed. Stewed. Wrecked. Hammered. Bladdered. Plastered. Mullered. Pickled. Bevvied. Rubbered. Tanked. Cock-eyed. Zombied. Blootered. Trolleyed. Rat-arsed." every day.

 

 

 

You mean that's not a "Just Stop Oil" protest??

[steven100]

intoxicated 

[Crossy]

Long ago my parents ran a small minibus / coach hire company.

 

Of course, hen parties were a staple.

 

One young driver returned at 2AM ish having delivered the "hens" (in this case they were older ladies, more like "old-boilers" than spring chickens) home after their night out.

He stated he'd barely escaped with his life after several of the "ladies" had decided that he would look much better without his trousers!

 

[MalcolmB]

19 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

This thread is going to be Cat-Nip for a handful of our more prolific 'friends of the realm' !!! 

I don’t think so, but why would you care anyway.

 

Life in the UK would be very boring without booze.
Every milestone and special day is made better with booze. Celebrating births, deaths, birthdays, xmas, watching sport, public holidays, going to the races, holidays abroad etc.

Could you imagine how boring those events would be without the drink?

[zyphodb]

17 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

If I would have to live under those conditions over there, I would also be "Pissed. Sloshed. Stewed. Wrecked. Hammered. Bladdered. Plastered. Mullered. Pickled. Bevvied. Rubbered. Tanked. Cock-eyed. Zombied. Blootered. Trolleyed. Rat-arsed." every day.

 

 

 

 

Just like everyone else there, then?

[zyphodb]

<deleted>faced was always one of my favorites...

[Crossy]

2 minutes ago, zyphodb said:

<deleted>faced was always one of my favorites...

 

Would that be "number-two faced" perchance? 🙂 

[richard_smith237]

2 minutes ago, MalcolmB said:

26 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

This thread is going to be Cat-Nip for a handful of our more prolific 'friends of the realm' !!! 

I don’t think so, but why would you care anyway.

 

Life in the UK would be very boring without booze.
Every milestone and special day is made better with booze. Celebrating births, deaths, birthdays, xmas, watching sport, public holidays, going to the races, holidays abroad etc.

Could you imagine how boring those events would be without the drink?

 

Totally agree....   Booze is a great social lubricant, although it can 'lubricate some too much'... which is the obvious issue and quite likely the direction this thread will take... 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

Just now, Crossy said:

2 minutes ago, zyphodb said:

<deleted>faced was always one of my favorites...

 

Would that be "number-two'd" perchance? 🙂 

 

Given the context it could have been one of many...    

 

W$%kfaced, Shyeatface, F£$kfaced, C%^£faced, A$$faced, P!$$faced, Tw@£faced...     

[zyphodb]

11 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Given the context it could have been one of many...    

 

W$%kfaced, Shyeatface, F£$kfaced, C%^£faced, A$$faced, P!$$faced, Tw@£faced...     

 

Still the best sounding one...

[ChumpChange]

bob smith no doubt. 
 

[ChumpChange]

More about Britons on the subject:

 

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sun-men/9324540/idiots-drunk-pass-out-benders/amp/ 

[G Rex]

we would sometimes get 'Gorillas'

an obscure rhyming slang from Dian Fosseys' 'Gorillas in the mist'

[MalcolmB]

39 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Totally agree....   Booze is a great social lubricant, although it can 'lubricate some too much'... which is the obvious issue and quite likely the direction this thread will take... 

 

 

I find the younger generation can’t hold their grog as well as us middle aged. 
They are a bit over sensitive these days 

[ChumpChange]

Real question is why would anyone even want to get drunk? Wake-up in the morning feeling like shiit with a pounding headache, all your cash is gone, awful taste in your mouth. Why not just stay home, chew up some thousand Baht notes, and hit yourself over the head with a blunt object? Same thing innit. 

[FritsSikkink]

And then there is Irish yoga 

[richard_smith237]

30 minutes ago, MalcolmB said:

I find the younger generation can’t hold their grog as well as us middle aged. 
They are a bit over sensitive these days 

 

I find the older generation to make a lot of unfounded, uneducated sweeping generalisations with no basis in fact but simply projecting flawed bias... 

 

  

[impulse]

29 minutes ago, ChumpChange said:

Real question is why would anyone even want to get drunk? Wake-up in the morning feeling like shiit with a pounding headache, all your cash is gone, awful taste in your mouth. Why not just stay home, chew up some thousand Baht notes, and hit yourself over the head with a blunt object? Same thing innit. 

 

Not meaning to get too serious here, but the best explanation I've ever heard was in AA speaker's meetings where Cliff R from SoCal described it perfectly.  He's my favorite circuit speaker and easy to find on YouTube.  I especially like his early stuff, and I heard him in person 2-3 times in the early 90's when I first took the oath in Texas, then moved to SoCal to work in the mid 90's.  Obviously, Cliff R doesn't have exclusivity, but he's my favorite.

If you don't want to listen to the 45 minutes, the bottom line answer is that 8 minutes of peace and being "enough" that many alcoholics feel between the first drink and too many drinks.

 

YouTube's blocked here in China so I can't provide a link.  And I'm not the proselytizing kind of recovering alcoholic, but I highly recommend searching for Cliff R 970606 on YouTube, or any of his speaker meeting tapes.

 

Edited June 10 by impulse

[richard_smith237]

25 minutes ago, ChumpChange said:

Real question is why would anyone even want to get drunk?

Because its fun.

 

25 minutes ago, ChumpChange said:

Wake-up in the morning feeling like shiit with a pounding headache, all your cash is gone, awful taste in your mouth.

Not if you don't get so 'trolleyed off yer face' that a hangover is moderate at worst....  

Not if you drink in better company and don't get so 'pie-eyed' that you don't blow all yer wedge on lady-drinks....

Not if you drink the bootleg swill most bars serve and still to sensible amounts.... (and hydrate before sleeping).

 

25 minutes ago, ChumpChange said:

Why not just stay home, chew up some thousand Baht notes, and hit yourself over the head with a blunt object? Same thing innit. 

 

Each to their own...  but I think even a Chang tastes better than a note !!....   beers are refreshing.

Wine's are excellent with food... Whisky' is thoroughly enjoyable at the end of an evening...

 

So no...  not same thing at all really, not even close.

 

[ChumpChange]

6 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

Not meaning to get too serious here, but the best explanation I've ever heard was in AA speaker's meetings where Cliff R from SoCal described it perfectly.  He's my favorite circuit speaker and easy to find on YouTube.  I especially like his early stuff, and I heard him in person 2-3 times in the early 90's when I first took the oath in Texas, them moved to SoCal to work in the mid 90's.  Obviously, Cliff R doesn't have exclusivity, but he's my favorite.

If you don't want to listen to the 45 minutes, the bottom line answer is that 8 minutes of peace and being "enough" that many alcoholics feel between the first drink and too many drinks.

 

YouTube's blocked here in China so I can't provide a link.  And I'm not the proselytizing kind of recovering alcoholic, but I highly recommend searching for Cliff R 970606 on YouTube, or any of his speaker meeting tapes.

 

Thanks. My question was really just tongue in cheek. People could take a few drops of cannabis oil, feel very relaxed, no hangovers/headaches, and without all the other mental and health problems associated with alcoholism. Alcohol really is one of the most destructive legal drugs known to man. 
 

P.S. Hard to imagine living in a country where something as important as YouTube is blocked. 

 

 

Edited June 10 by ChumpChange

[Gottfrid]

9 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

I find the older generation to make a lot of unfounded, uneducated sweeping generalisations with no basis in fact but simply projecting flawed bias... 

 

  

Yeah, there are always the old guard, who think everything was better when they were young. That´s probably one of the oldest clichés that exists.

 

The reason Brits have a lot of words for the same thing, is only because they love their beer a tad too much 😉 

[ChumpChange]

2 hours ago, Crossy said:

Combine ribald humour with peculiar sentence construction and a genuinely horrifying drinking culture, and what do you get? A dictionary’s worth of ‘drunkonyms’

Name: Drunkonyms.

Age: As old as alcohol itself.

 

Quantity: 546.

I’m not entirely sure I know what a drunkonym is. Let me help you out. The Sámi people of northern Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia are said to have more than 300 words for snow. For example, “Åppås” means untouched winter snow, “Säásj” refers to old snow that has become loose and coarse and “Tsievve” is snow that has become so hard that not even reindeer can dig through it.

This is fascinating, but what’s your point? My point is that, just as the Sámi have hundreds of words for snow, British people have hundreds of words for “drunk”. Five-hundred and forty-six, in fact.

This sounds like an exaggeration. Fine, I’ll list them. Pissed. Sloshed. Stewed. Wrecked. Hammered. Bladdered. Plastered. Mullered. Pickled. Bevvied. Rubbered. Tanked. Cock-eyed. Zombied. Blootered. Trolleyed. Rat-arsed. …

 

Read More https://www.theguardian.com/food/2024/feb/20/sloshed-plastered-and-gazeboed-why-britons-have-546-words-for-drunkenness

 

Important Note: - The image is not me

 

Simple answer is that when you spend so much of your time (worthlessly) in a blottered state, you have a lot of time to sit around and think up humorous words to refer to being shipwrecked. 

[Gandtee]

1 hour ago, richard_smith237 said:

Because its fun.

 

Not if you don't get so 'trolleyed off yer face' that a hangover is moderate at worst....  

Not if you drink in better company and don't get so 'pie-eyed' that you don't blow all yer wedge on lady-drinks....

Not if you drink the bootleg swill most bars serve and still to sensible amounts.... (and hydrate before sleeping).

 

 

Each to their own...  but I think even a Chang tastes better than a note !!....   beers are refreshing.

Wine's are excellent with food... Whisky' is thoroughly enjoyable at the end of an evening...

 

So no...  not same thing at all really, not even close.

 

Here. Here. I'll drink to that. Cheers. Bottoms up!

[Prubangboy]

'Lived in England for 8 years, never enjoyed booze much, became a slobbering drunk there.

 

Brit pub culture is a thing of great beauty, and I am grateful to be far away from it.

[Liverpool Lou]

2 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Not if you don't get so 'trolleyed off yer face' that a hangover is moderate at worst....  

Not if you drink in better company and don't get so 'pie-eyed' that you don't blow all yer wedge on lady-drinks....

Not if you drink the bootleg swill most bars serve and still to sensible amounts.... (and hydrate before sleeping).

Not if you don't drink the bootleg swill most bars serve, surely?