Saturday, January 17, 2015

Run out of 'drunk' words? Here's 193 historical synonyms including 'plotzed' and 'schnockered'

Run out of 'drunk' words? Here's 193 historical synonyms including 'plotzed' and 'schnockered'


LAMIAT SABIN Author Biography

 
 
Swizzled, fuddled and boozed are familiar ways to refer to having one (or four) too many drinks – but there are actually nearly 200 historical words for 'drunk' that are just as satisfying to say.
You would be safe to bet on a round at the pub that 'wasted' (1968), 'worse for wear' (1966) and 'pissed' (1929) are included in the run-down of 193 synonyms on an online Historical Thesaurus list set up by the University of Glasgow.
Luckily, if you have run out of original ways to refer to having downed too much ale or plonk, then look towards 'plotzed' (1962) and the US slang word 'schnockered' (1955), as you may agree that they describe inebriation perfectly.
Our favourites in the Independent office include 'symbelwlonc' – one of the earliest recorded words for 'drunk' in Old English – as well as 'splifficated' (1906), 'whiffled' (1927), 'pot-shotten' (1629), 'fox-drunk' (1592) and 'in one's cups' (1611).

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