As drunk as Skunks
I thought it would be fun to gather together a collection of anecdotes and quirky facts about wines and beers.
Skunks, Mephitis mephitica, (the charming North American mammal and member of the weasel family which takes its name from the Algonquian Indian word meaning "urinating fox.") do not get drunk. The term "drunk as a skunk" is, as you guessed, simply a good example of our love of comparisons and rhyming, made especially popular by the fact that "skunk" happens to be one of the few words that rhymes with "drunk." Similar, albeit non-rhyming, terms for "extremely drunk" have included, over the years, drunk as a fly, a log, a dog, a loon, a poet, a billy goat, a broom, a bat, a badger, a boiled owl, and several dozen more too risqué to list here. Although comparative terms for drunkenness have been popular throughout the history of English, "drunk as a skunk" seems to be a fairly recent (20th century) addition to the canon.
It was the accepted practice in Babylonia 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer, and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the "honey month" - or what we know today as the "honeymoon".
Before thermometers were invented, brewers would dip a thumb or finger into the mix to find the right temperature for adding yeast. Too cold, and the yeast wouldn't grow. Too hot, and the yeast would die. This thumb in the beer is where we get the phrase "rule of thumb".
In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts. So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them to mind their own pints and quarts and settle down. It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's".
After consuming a bucket or two of vibrant brew they called aul, or ale, the Vikings would head fearlessly into battle often without armour or even shirts. In fact, the term "berserk" means "bare shirt" in Norse, and eventually took on the meaning of their wild battles.
In 1740 Admiral Vernon of the British fleet decided to water down the navy's rum. Needless to say, the sailors weren't too pleased and called Admiral Vernon, Old Grog, after the stiff wool grogram coats he wore. The term "grog" soon began to mean the watered down drink itself. When you were drunk on this grog, you were "groggy", a word still in use today.
Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim or handle of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. "Wet your whistle", is the phrase inspired by this practice.
In the middle ages, "nunchion" was the word for liquid lunches. It was a combination of the words "noon scheken", or noon drinking. In those days, a large chunk of bread was called lunch. So if you ate bread with your nunchion, you had what we still today call a luncheon.
According to local legend, the great French white Burgundy, Corton-Charlemagne, owes its existence, not to the emperor Charlemagne, but to his wife. The red wines of Corton stained his white beard so messily that she persuaded him to plant vines that would produce white wines. Charlemagne ordered white grapes to be planted. Thus: Corton-Charlemagne!
“I can certainly see that you know your wine. Most of the guests who stay here wouldn't know the difference between Bordeaux and Claret.” —-
John Cleese
"I cook with wine; sometimes I even add it to the food." —- W. C. Fields
When asked whether he ever confused a Bordeaux with a Burgundy in a blind tasting, British wine legend Harry Waugh replied: "Not since lunch."
“Wine makes a man more pleased with himself; I do not say it makes him more pleasing to others.” —- Samuel Johnson, April 28, 1778
“Wine improves with age. The older I get, the better I like it.” —- Anonymous
“Abstainer: a weak person who yields to the temptation of denying himself a pleasure.” —- Ambrose Bierce
“Reality is an illusion that occurs due to the lack of alcohol.”
“I never drink anything stronger than gin before breakfast. “
“A woman drove me to drink and I didn't even have the decency to thank her.”
“What contemptible scoundrel has stolen the cork to my lunch?” —- W.C. Fields
“Sir, if you were my husband, I would poison your drink.” —- Lady Astor to Winston Churchill
“Madam, if you were my wife, I would drink it.” —-His reply
“Work is the curse of the drinking classes.” —-Oscar Wilde
“Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.” —-Ernest Hemingway
“Extensive interviews show that not one alcoholic has ever actually seen a pink elephant.” —-Yale University, Center of Alcohol Studies
Skunks, Mephitis mephitica, (the charming North American mammal and member of the weasel family which takes its name from the Algonquian Indian word meaning "urinating fox.") do not get drunk. The term "drunk as a skunk" is, as you guessed, simply a good example of our love of comparisons and rhyming, made especially popular by the fact that "skunk" happens to be one of the few words that rhymes with "drunk." Similar, albeit non-rhyming, terms for "extremely drunk" have included, over the years, drunk as a fly, a log, a dog, a loon, a poet, a billy goat, a broom, a bat, a badger, a boiled owl, and several dozen more too risqué to list here. Although comparative terms for drunkenness have been popular throughout the history of English, "drunk as a skunk" seems to be a fairly recent (20th century) addition to the canon.
It was the accepted practice in Babylonia 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer, and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the "honey month" - or what we know today as the "honeymoon".
Before thermometers were invented, brewers would dip a thumb or finger into the mix to find the right temperature for adding yeast. Too cold, and the yeast wouldn't grow. Too hot, and the yeast would die. This thumb in the beer is where we get the phrase "rule of thumb".
In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts. So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them to mind their own pints and quarts and settle down. It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's".
After consuming a bucket or two of vibrant brew they called aul, or ale, the Vikings would head fearlessly into battle often without armour or even shirts. In fact, the term "berserk" means "bare shirt" in Norse, and eventually took on the meaning of their wild battles.
In 1740 Admiral Vernon of the British fleet decided to water down the navy's rum. Needless to say, the sailors weren't too pleased and called Admiral Vernon, Old Grog, after the stiff wool grogram coats he wore. The term "grog" soon began to mean the watered down drink itself. When you were drunk on this grog, you were "groggy", a word still in use today.
Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim or handle of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. "Wet your whistle", is the phrase inspired by this practice.
In the middle ages, "nunchion" was the word for liquid lunches. It was a combination of the words "noon scheken", or noon drinking. In those days, a large chunk of bread was called lunch. So if you ate bread with your nunchion, you had what we still today call a luncheon.
According to local legend, the great French white Burgundy, Corton-Charlemagne, owes its existence, not to the emperor Charlemagne, but to his wife. The red wines of Corton stained his white beard so messily that she persuaded him to plant vines that would produce white wines. Charlemagne ordered white grapes to be planted. Thus: Corton-Charlemagne!
“I can certainly see that you know your wine. Most of the guests who stay here wouldn't know the difference between Bordeaux and Claret.” —-
John Cleese
"I cook with wine; sometimes I even add it to the food." —- W. C. Fields
When asked whether he ever confused a Bordeaux with a Burgundy in a blind tasting, British wine legend Harry Waugh replied: "Not since lunch."
“Wine makes a man more pleased with himself; I do not say it makes him more pleasing to others.” —- Samuel Johnson, April 28, 1778
“Wine improves with age. The older I get, the better I like it.” —- Anonymous
“Abstainer: a weak person who yields to the temptation of denying himself a pleasure.” —- Ambrose Bierce
“Reality is an illusion that occurs due to the lack of alcohol.”
“I never drink anything stronger than gin before breakfast. “
“A woman drove me to drink and I didn't even have the decency to thank her.”
“What contemptible scoundrel has stolen the cork to my lunch?” —- W.C. Fields
“Sir, if you were my husband, I would poison your drink.” —- Lady Astor to Winston Churchill
“Madam, if you were my wife, I would drink it.” —-His reply
“Work is the curse of the drinking classes.” —-Oscar Wilde
“Always do sober what you said you'd do drunk. That will teach you to keep your mouth shut.” —-Ernest Hemingway
“Extensive interviews show that not one alcoholic has ever actually seen a pink elephant.” —-Yale University, Center of Alcohol Studies
Subscribe to this Blog
<< Home