Tacked
Tacky – Sticky from booze.
Taken a Buford bait – Originally this phrase meant to take a drink. Since
at least the early 1800s; possibly goes as far back as the late 1700s.
Taken a chirruping glass
Taken a cup too much
Taken a drop too much
Taken a glass too much
Taken a segue
Taken a shard/shourd – Tipsy. British, 1800s.
Taken in some O-Be-Joyful
Taken more than one can hold
Taken one over the eight – See "One over the
eight."
Taken one’s drops
Taken too much – Euphemistic.
Taking a trip
Taking it easy – Tipsy. Late 1800s to early 1900s.
Taking in/on cargo – 1800s.
Taking on a load
Taking on fuel – Getting drunk, drinking alcohol to excess.
Taking one’s broth – Nautical, mid 1700s to mid 1800s.
Taking one’s drops – Noted by Benjamin Franklin.
Taking one’s medicine
Talking load
Talking loud
Talking to Jamie Moore
Talking to Jim Beam – From a whisky brand name.
Tangle-leg – "Tangle-leg" is the rough, sometimes deadly whisky
of the Old West. From its affect on one’s ability to walk.
Tangled
Tangled-legged
Tanglefooted
Tanglelegged
Tank up – Very drunk. Bahamian slang.
Tanked – In British army slang, "tank" once meant
"canteen" as in an eating place for soldiers. Since the late 1800s.
Tanked out
Tanked to the wide – Cf. "Dead to the
wide."
Tanked up
Tanking up
Tanky
Tanned
Tap-shackled – Chained to a keg of liquor.
Taplash wretched
Tapped
Tapped out
Tapped the Admiral – From the phrase "He’d tap the Admiral,"
meaning that one would do anything for a drink of spirits. Stems from the
legend that Lord Nelson’s body was preserved in rum. Today, to "tap the
Admiral" means to have a nip of potent potable, usually on the sly.
"Nelson’s blood" is Navy slang for rum. Cf. "Sucked the
monkey."
Tatered
Tattooed – Cf. "Screwed, blued and
tattooed."
Taverned
Tavern bitch has bitten one on/in the head – Popular prints of tavern
scenes from the 1600s to the 1800s often show a dog among the tavern’s
patrons. Thus, means that one has fallen onto the floor, where it is possible
to get bitten on the head. Since circa 1608.
Taverned – Dates back possibly as far as the 1300s. British.
Tead/Teed – From "tea," whisky. Since the 1920s.
Tead/Teaed/Teed up
Tearing up
Teched
Ted
Teed to the tits
Teeth are floating - See quot;Back teeth
afloat."
Teeth under – Cf. "Back teeth
afloat."
Temulent – From "temulency" or "temulence,"
intoxication. Root word is Latin "temulentus" for
"intoxicated."
Temulentious
Temulentive
That way
Thawed – From the dripping of melted ice. Noted by Benjamin Franklin.
The bloody flag is out
The flag of defiance is out
The king is one’s cousin – Noted by Benjamin Franklin.
The malt is above the water – Cf. "Malt above the
meal." Noted
by Benjamin Franklin.
The malt is above the wheat with one – Mid 1500s to early 1800s.
The morning after
The sun has shone on them
The worse – Shortening of "The worse for drink."
The worse for drink
The worse for liquor
The worse for wear
There – Possibly from one of the following three phrases, or from
"Getting there."
There with both feet – To "get there with both feet" is to be
very successful. Perhaps this means that one has been very successful at
getting fried.
There with the goods
There with what it takes
Thick-headed
Thick-legged
Thick-lipped – Refers to difficulty with speech.
Thick-tongued
Thirsty
Thoroughly drunk
Thoroughly intoxicated
Thrashed
Three bricks short of a load
Three parts five-eighths – Variation of following term.
Three parts seven-eighths – Nautical. Possibly from "Three sheets in
the wind."
Three sheets – Short for "Three sheets in the wind."
Three sheets in the shade
Three sheets in/to the wind – Totally drunk. A "sheet" is a
rope holding a sail in place. A "sheet in (or to) the wind" is such
a rope that has come loose. To "have a sheet in the wind" is common
nautical slang for to be drunk, so "three sheets in the wind" means
very drunk indeed. Originally British, since the 1820s.
Three sheets in the wind and one flapping
Three sheets in the wind and the other one flapping
Three sheets in the wind’s eye
Throwed off
Throwing a wing-ding
Thrown away the cork
Thrown down
Thumped over the head with Sampson’s jawbone – Cf. "Had a thump over the head with Sampson's jawbone." Noted by Benjamin Franklin.
Tickeyboo
Tiddled – Slightly drunk. British.
Tiddly/Tiddley – Tipsy. From "tiddlywink," rhyming slang for
"drink" and meaning liquor, or slang for an unlicensed tavern. Since
the late 1800s.
Tiddy
Tied a bag on – "Bag" is nautical slang for a pot of beer.
Tied on the bear
Tied one on
Tied the bag on
Tiffed
Tiffled
Tight/Tite – Full enough to burst; or reasonably, but not excessively,
drunk. Since the 1850s.
Tight as a boiled owl – 1800s
Tight as a brassiere
Tight as a D-cup tit in an A-cup bra
Tight as a drum – Heavily inebriated.
Tight as a duck's ass/arse
Tight as a fart – Refers to the tension to avoid farting. British, since
circa 1925.
Tight as a goat – "Tight" plus "stinking (drunk) as a
goat."
Tight as a lord
Tight as a mink
Tight as a newt – May imply that one is "water-tight." Cf.
"Pissed as a newt." Mainly military use.
Tight
as a rat
Tight as a Scotsman
Tight as a ten-day drunk – Very drunk.
Tight as a tick – Tight as a tick attached to its victim. Cf. "Full
as a tick."
Tight as an owl – From "Drunk as an
owl."
Tight as Andronicus
Tight as Dick’s hatband/hat band
Tight as the bark on a tree – Very drunk.
Tight up – Bahamian slang.
Tight-lipped
Tight-wadded
Tighter than a drum
Tighter than a goat
Tighter than a mink
Tighter than a new boot
Tighter than a Scotsman
Tighter than a tick
Tighter than Dick’s hatband
Tighter than the bark on a tree
Tightly
Tightly slight – Possibly a variation of "Slightly
tightly."
Tilted
Tin hat(s) – Cf. "Got on one’s little
hat." British military,
since the late 1800s.
Tin-hatted – Naval variant of "Tin hat."
Tinned – British variation of "Canned." Since the 1940s.
Tip merry – Tipsy. From the tipping of a drinking mug. British, since the
early 1600s.
Tip-top
Tip top tippler – Drunk on champagne.
Tipium Grove – See "In Tipium
Grove."
Tipped/Tipt
Tipping
Tipping one’s/the elbow
Tipping the little finger – Australian.
Tippled
Tippling – Ultimately from Norwegian "tipla," to take frequent
small drinks.
Tipply
Tippy
Tipsificated
Tipsified – British, early 1800s.
Tipsy/Tipsey – Slightly drunk. A "tip" (short for
"tipple") is a draft of liquor. Since the 1500s.
Tipsy-turvy - "Tipsy" + "topsy-turvy"
Tired – US euphemism since the 1800s.
Tired and emotional – Extremely drunk. Coined by the magazine Private
Eye as a euphemism to mask the activities of celebrities.
Tishy – From mispronunciation of "Tipsy."
Titley – Variation of "Tiddly."
Tizzied – Appears in Lewis Padgett’s story "The Proud Robot."
To the gills – Shortening of "Up to the gills."
Toast
Toasted – Very high. Reinforced by the practice of drinking a
"toast."
Toasty
Toe back – Heavily inebriated.
Toe up
Toes down
Tol-lol – Drunk and happy. From Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire slang for
"pretty good." British, since the 1890s.
Tomado
Tongue-tied – Noted by Benjamin Franklin.
Too convivial
Too far north – "North" is Nautical slang for
"strong" or "well-fortified," said esp. of grog.
Too many cloths in the wind – See "Three sheets in the
wind."
Since the 1800s.
Too many clothes in/on the wind
Too numerous to mention – Drunk and angry. British, since the 1880s.
Took a dive
Took one’s broth til one capsized – Drank until one fell out of one’s
chair. Nautical slang.
Took one’s drops
Top-heavy – Unable to stand without swaying. Since circa 1675.
Top-loaded
Toped
Toper
Topped
Topped off – Completely full. Suggests a gas tank after a motorist has
topped it off.
Topped off one’s antifreeze – Cf. "Antifreezed."
Topped up
Toppled – Very inebriated.
Topper
Toppy
Topsy-boozy/-boosy
Topsy-turvy – Noted by Benjamin Franklin.
Topy – Variant of "Toppy."
Tore
Tore back
Tore down
Tore/Torn up
Tore up from the floor up
Torn
Torqued – "Twisted." Possibly of army origin.
Torrid – British, late 1700s.
Tosie
Tossed
Tossicated
Tosticated
Tostificated – Corruption of "Intoxicated." British & US,
l700s to early 1900s.
Tostified
Topsy-mosy
Totaled – Very drunk. Suggests a "totaled" automobile. Cf.
"Wrecked."
Totally drunk
Totally pissed
Totty
Touched – Mildly drunk.
Touched as a boiled owl
Touched off
Touched with drink
Tough as a boiled/biled owl – Drunk and belligerent. See "Drunk
as a boiled owl."
Tow-row – Drunk and disorderly.
Tow up
Towered – Congressional slang. First appeared after the rejection of John
Tower as secretary in the phrase "Let’s go out and get towered."
Toxed – From "Intoxicated." British, early 1600s.
Toxic
Toxicated
Toxified
Toxy – British & US.
Trammeled – Incapacitated. Noted by Benjamin Franklin.
Translated – Transferred to another state. Society use. Possibly from
Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, in which appears the line
"Bless thee, Bottom, thou art translated."
Trashed/T-rashed
Trashed out of one’s gourd
Traveling light
Trifle maudlin
Trimmed down
Trip
Tripped
Tripped out
Tripped up
Tripping
Tripping drunk
Trippy – Possibly from drug lingo.
Trolleyed
Trounced
Troused
Trousered – Scottish slang
Trying Taylor’s best
T.U.B.B. – Acronym for "Tits Up But Breathing."
Tubed – Vanishing down the tubes, hence, deeply intoxicated.
Tubed up
Tumbled down the sink – Heavily inebriated. To "tumble down the
sink" means to drink in rhyming slang. Since the late 1800s.
Tumbling
Tumbling drunk – Drunk and willing to have sex. Possibly from
"tumble," to seduce or copulate. British, 1800s.
Tuned – From electronics. Since the 1920s.
Tuned up
Tuned up a little
Tuppence on the can – Tipsy. Public house slang.
Turned on – Probably began as drug slang. Since the 1950s.
Turning up one’s pinky/little finger – Suggests that one habitually
gets drunk.
Turnt – Extremely intoxicated.
Turugiddy
Tuzzy – Possibly related to "Muzzy." British, 1800s.
Tweased
Tweaked/Tweeked – Heavily intoxicated. Valley Girl talk.
Twisted – Very drunk.
Two sheets in/to the wind – See "Three sheets in the
wind."
Two-thirds kicked in the ass
Tying a bag on – See "Tied a bag on."
Tying one on
Ugly
Ugly drunk
U.I. – Under the Influence.
Umbriago
Unable to say British Constitution – Since the late 1800s. Cf. "Can’t
say National Intelligencer."
Unable to scratch oneself
Unable to see a hole in a ladder – Since the mid 1800s.
Unable to sport a right line – Oxford University slang.
Unbalanced
Unco’ happy
Uncorked
Under – Implies unconsciousness. Or, may be short for "Under the
table," "Under the influence," or some other such term.
Under full sail
Under full steam
Under the affluence of incohol – Humorous spoonerism inspired by the
incoherent speech of drunks. Australian, since the 1950s.
Under the influence
Under the influence of alcohol
Under the influence of liquor
Under the sauce
Under the table – Because one has fallen there. From the days when excess
drinking was considered gentlemanly (see "Drunk as a lord").
Especially in the 1700s and 1800s, men of status would vie in a one-upmanship of drinking each other under the table.
Under the wagon
Under the weather – A popular euphemism. Cf. "Ill." Since the
1800s; may be of nautical origin.
Underway
Unglued
Unkdray
Unsensed
Unsober – Euphemistic. Since the early 1600s.
Unsteady
Unsteady on one’s feet
Unwell – Euphemistic. Covering up drunkenness by mentioning one of its
symptoms. Cf. "Ill," "Under the weather."
Up – High. Probably originated in drug slang.
Up a stump
Up a tree
Up in one’s hat
Up large
Up on blocks – Possibly refers to a car without wheels supported on
cinder blocks.
Up on Olympus
Up the creek – Implies that one is in trouble due to inebriation.
Truncation of "Up the creek (Shit Creek) without a paddle."
Up the pole – Rather drunk. Cf. "Getting up the
pole." Since
the late 1800s.
Up to one’s/the eyeballs
Up to one’s eyebrows
Up to the ears
Up to the gills – Having imbibed a considerable quantity of potent
potables. Frequently combined with other terms to indicate extreme
intoxication.
Upholstered
Upon the go
Upon the spree
Upped the buckets
Uppish – From elated feeling and, possibly, cheekiness. British, since
the early 1700s.
Uppity
Upset
Upside down
Upsy/Upsee/Upsey/Upsie/Upse/Upsee – The proper spelling is
"Upsy"; the rest are improper variants. From various modes of
drinking – see the following two terms. Late 1500s to 1600s.
Upsy Dutch
Upsy English
Upsy Freeze/Freze/Friese
Vabooshed
Valiant – Cf. "Full of Dutch
courage," "Pot-sure."
Vamooshed
Vapor-locked – Because a car is virtually impossible to start when it has
vapor lock. Also suggests the vapors of alcohol.
Varnished – Cf. "Shellacked."
Vegetable – Barely moving or not moving at all.
Very
Very drunk
Very happy
Very high
Very relaxed
Very weary
Vibing
Vice-Admiral of the narrow seas – So drunk that one has lost bladder
control and filled one’s boots (the "narrow seas"). Possibly used
by Samuel Johnson. Cf. "As good conditioned as a
puppy." Dates back
to at least the 1500s; possibly goes back as far as the 1400s.
Vinolent – Drunk on wine.
Visited the bottom of the manger – May imply that one is falling-down
drunk.
Voom-voom
Vulcanized
Waa-zooed – Variant of "Whazood."
Walking a Virginia fence – See "Making Virginia fence."
Walking on one’s cap badge – Military.
Walking on rocky socks – Refers to unsteady gait.
Wall-eyed
Walloped – From "wallop," a WWII term for beer or a drink of
liquor.
Wallpapered – Civil War era slang.
Wam-bazzled
Wamble-cropped/-crop’d – From a term for general anxiety. Here,
"crop" means the stomach. Noted by Benjamin Franklin.
Wamble-stomached.
Wamblety-cropped
Wankered - Popular with young adults in the UK
Wapsed down
Warming up
Washed out
Washing one’s neck
Washing one’s/the brain
Washing one’s/the head
Washing one’s/the ivories – Cf. "Sluicing the
dominoes."
Wassailed – From the traditional wassail, or spiced ale, for holidays,
esp. Yuletide.
Wassailed out
Wassailed up
Wasted – Perhaps originated as drug lingo.
Wasted one’s paunch
Watching ant races – Face down on the floor.
Watered
Waterlogged – Dead drunk. Completely saturated, unable to absorb any more
liquid. Of nautical origin.
Water-soaked/-soaken
Waving a flag of defiance
Waxed – A "waxer" is an expression formerly used by Customs Officers and Coopers for a free drink. When a bung was replaced in a cask of spirit, a disk of waxed paper was inserted before the bung was flogged home. Prior to this happening, it was customary for the Customs Officer gauging the cask and the Cooper to have a small tot, just to ensure that the cask contained spirits, hence the term. It was in common use in Royal Victoria dock in the 1960’s, and applied to any free drink you could get your hands on. An alternative definition refers to a particularly bibulous Customs Officer, who would be told "Come on now, you’ve had your whack, sir!"
Way out – High. Probably originated in drug slang.
Wazzocked
Weak jointed – Refers to the difficulty of movement.
Wearing a barley cap – Having imbibed too much ale or malt liquor.
Originally Scottish, since the 1600s.
Wearing a lamp shade – From the stereotypical "life of the
party."
Wearing a wobbly boot
Wearing beer goggles – Experiencing the altered perception of
drunkenness.
Wearing the head large – Suffering a headache due to alcoholic excess.
Cf. "Got on one’s little hat."
Weary – Cf. "Tired." Interestingly, Old High German
"wuorag" for "drunk" is a cognate of Anglo-Saxon
"werig." British, 1870s to 1920s.
Weaving – Cf. "Making Virginia
fence."
Wee-weed – Derivative of "Pissed" using kiddie slang.
Well away – Rather drunk.
Well-bottled – Tipsy. US & British, the latter mainly officers’ use
in the services, since the 1920s.
Well-corned
Well-fixed
Well-greased
Well-healed
Well in for it
Well in the way
Well into it
Well-jointed
Well-lathered
Well-lit
Well-loaded
Well-lubricated
Well-lunched
Well-mulled
Well-oiled
Well on
Well on one’s way
Well-organized
Well-preserved
Well-primed
Well-soaked
Well-sprung
Well to live – From this phrase’s sense of "prosperous."
Since circa 1610.
Well under – Australian.
Well under the weather
Well-wrapped
Wellied
Wet – In Bahamian slang this means very drunk. Since the early 1700s; may
date as far back as 1592.
Wet both eyes
Wet-handed
Wet right up – Heavily inebriated. Bahamian slang.
Wet within
Wetting one’s goozle
Wetting one’s/the neck
Wetting one’s/the whistle
Wettish
Whacked
Whacked out – May have originated in drug lingo.
Whacked out of one’s skull
Whacky
Whaled
Whammied
What-nosed – Hot-nosed from imbibing. 1800s.
Whatsed
Whazood/Whazooed – From term for "beat" or "run
down."
Whet one’s whistle
Whiffled – Tipsy. Origin unknown; British, since the 1930s.
Whipcat/Whip-cat – Related to "whip the cat," meaning to vomit
esp. due to crapulence, or to get tipsy. Late
1500s to early 1600s.
Whipped – Tipsy. US, 1800s.
Whipping the cat – See "Whipcat."
Whipsed
Whipsy/Whipsey
Whiskied
Whisky-frisky – From older sense of "flighty."
Whisky-raddled
Whisky-shot
Whisky sodden
Whiskyfied/Whiskified/Whiskeyfied
Whistled – From the old British slang "whistle stop" for an inn
where one could "wet one’s whistle." Cf. following term. Upper
class and services (esp. RAF) since the 1920s.
Whistle(d) drunk – Very drunk. "Whistled drunk" may be a
misprint. Possibly from the cheerful whistling of one who is inebriated.
British, mid 1700s.
Whittin stewed
Whittled – Cut. To "whittle" means to make tipsy. British and
later US, 1500s to late 1700s.
Whittled as a penguin
Wholly wassailed
Whoofits
Whoop-de-do
Whoopeed up
Whoopie(d)
Whooping it up
Whooshed
Whoozled
Whoozy
Whopped up
Wicked-faced
Wicked retarded
Wide-eyed and legless
Wide-open
Wigged
Wigged out
Wiggy
Wild – Cf. "Gone Borneo."
Willy-wacht
Wilted – Suggests a plant dying from too much water instead of too
little.
Wine of ape – At the point of drunkenness where one becomes surly.
According to early Rabbinical literature, while Noah was planting grape vines,
Satan appeared to him with a lamb, a lion, an ape and a pig as symbols of the
four stages of intoxication: First, one is like a lamb; then, one is like a
lion; then, one is like an ape, finally, one is like a pig. The French
Kalendrier at Compost de Bergiers of 1480 liste the four stages as the
choleric vin de lion, the sanguine vin de singe (monkey), the
phlegmatic vin de mouton (sheep), and the melancholic vin de porceau
(swine).
Wine-potted
Wine shits
Wined up
Wing-heavy – Drunk to the point that one cannot move. US Air Force slang.
Cf. "Flying Chinese."
Wing’d/Winged – Cf. "Hit under the
wing."
Wingy – High. Perhaps originated in drug culture.
Winterized – Cf. "Antifreezed," "Prestoned."
Winy/Winey – Since circa 1859.
Wiped – Probably from drug culture.
Wiped out
Wiped over
Wired – High. Probably originally drug lingo. Cf. "Lit."
Wired up
Wise
With a binge on
With a breath
With a breath on
With a breath strong enough to carry (the) coal
With a bun on
With a Christmas list 20 degrees starboard – Cf. "45 degrees
listed." Nautical.
With a glow on
With a jag on
With a load on
With a skate on
With a slant on
With a swollen head
With an affectionate jag – Drunk and amorous or libidinous. Cf.
"Love-dovey."
With an affectionate jag on
With an edge on
With drink taken
With one over the eight – See "One over the
eight."
With one’s jib well bowsed – Nautical.
With the big head
With the eyes set
With the eyes set in one’s/the head – 1600s to 1700s.
With the main brace well-spliced – See "Has spliced the main
brace."
With the sun in one’s eyes
With the topgallant sails out
With too many cloths in the wind – See "Three sheets in the
wind."
With too much sail
Wobbly
Woggled
Woggly
Wollied
Womble-cropped – Variation of "Womblety-cropt." Noted by
Benjamin Franklin.
Womblety-cropt/Womble-ty-cropt/Womblety-cropped – From old term for
"uncomfortable" or "uncertain." Refers to the disposition
of a drinker after going on a bender. See "Wamble-cropped."
Woody
Woofed
Woofled
Wooshed
Woozy/Woosy/Woozey – Dizzy, unwell, dazed. Possibly from
"wooly" + "dizzy," "muzzy" or "hazy."
Since the late 1800s.
Working the growler – See "Rushing the
growler."
Worse for wear – Mildly drunk.
Wounded
Wrapped up in warm flannel – "Warm flannel" or "hot
flannel" is a drink of beer and gin, or mixed spirits served hot.
Possibly derived from various terms for gin.
Wrecked – Probably from drug lingo. Cf. "Totaled."
Wrenched – Drunk out of one’s mind. US campus use.
Wrong (all) ‘round the corner
Wuzzy – From "Woozy."
Yappish
Yappy
Yaupish
Yaupy
Ydrunken – Very old form of "drunken." Dates back to the 1200s.
Zagged
Zapped
Zeed-out – Jersey City slang.
Zeroed
Ziced
Zigzag/Zig-zag – French colloquial descriptive of a drunk’s staggering
gait. Used esp. in northern France during WWI, became part of British military
slang, and later spread to the US. Cf. "Making Virginia
fence."
Zigzagged
Zinzagged
Zinzan
Zipped
Zippered
Zissified
Zoned – Possibly means in the Twilight Zone. Probably derived from drug
lingo.
Zoned out
Zonk
Zonked – Very drunk. Probably from drug lingo, or from slang for
"hit."
Zonked out
Zonkers
Zoobang
Zooed
Zooted – US college slang.
Zorked
Zotted
Zounk
Zozzled – 1920s slang
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