’Tis an old Remark, that Vice always endeavours to assume the Appearance of Virtue: Thus Covetousness calls itself Prudence; Prodigality would be thought Generosity; and so of others. This perhaps arises hence, that, Mankind naturally and universally approve Virtue in their Hearts, and detest Vice; and therefore, whenever thro’ Temptation they fall into a Practice of the latter, they would if possible conceal it from themselves as well as others, under some other Name than that which properly belongs to it.

But Drunkenness is a very unfortunate Vice in this respect. It bears no kind of Similitude with any sort of Virtue, from which it might possibly borrow a Name; and is therefore reduc’d to the wretched Necessity of being express’d by distant round-about Phrases, and of perpetually varying those Phrases, as often as they come to be well understood to signify plainly that A Man is drunk.

Tho’ every one may possibly recollect a Dozen at least of the Expressions us’d on this Occasion, yet I think no one who has not much frequented Taverns would imagine the number of them so great as it really is. It may therefore surprize as well as divert the sober Reader, to have the Sight of a new Piece, lately communicated to me, entitled

Bewitch’d,

Block and Block,

Boozy,

Bowz’d,

Been at Barbadoes,

Piss’d in the Brook,

Drunk as a Wheel-

Barrow,

Burdock’d,

Buskey,

Buzzey,

the Brewer’s Basket,

bled,

As Drunk as a Beggar,

Head with Sampson’s

Jawbone,

Cagrin’d,

Capable,

Cramp’d,

Cherubimical,

Cherry Merry,

Wamble Crop’d,

Crack’d,

Concern’d,

Half Way to Concord,

Got Corns in his Head,

A Cup too much,

Coguy,

Copey,

Catch’d,

Non Compos,

Cock’d

Curv’d,

Cut,

Chipper,

Chickery,

Loaded his Cart,

Creature,

Considering Cap,

Kill’d his Dog,

Took his Drops,

Kill’d his Dog,

Took his Drops,

Enter’d,

Wet both Eyes,

Cock Ey’d,

Got the Pole Evil,

Got a brass Eye,

Made an Example,

Breakfast,

Fox’d,

Fuddled,

Sore Footed,

Frozen,

Well in for ’t,

Owes no Man a Farthing,

Fears no Man,

Crump Footed,

Been to France,

Flush’d,

Froze his Mouth,

Fetter’d,

Been to a Funeral,

His Flag is out,

Fuzl’d,

Spoke with his Friend,

Been at an Indian Feast.

Groatable,

Gold-headed,

Glaiz’d,

Generous,

Booz’d the Gage,

As Dizzy as a Goose,

Been before George,

Got the Gout,

Had a Kick in the Guts,

Been with Sir John Goa,

Been at Geneva,

Globular,

Got the Glanders.

Home,

Spirits,

grand Elixir.

Jolly,

Jagg’d,

Jambled,

Going to Jerusalem,

Jocular,

Been to Jerico,

Juicy.

Clips the King’s

English,

Seen the French King,

The King is his Cousin,

Got Kib’d Heels,

Knapt,

Het his Kettle.

Lordly,

He makes Indentures

with his Leggs,

Well to Live,

Light,

Lappy,

Limber.

Merry,

Middling,

Moon-Ey’d,

Muddled,

Seen a Flock of

Moons,

Maudlin,

Mountous,

Muddy,

Rais’d his Monuments,

Mellow.

Nimptopsical,

Got the Night Mare.

He’s Oil’d,

Eat Opium,

Smelt of an Onion,

Oxycrocium,

Overset.

Half-Penny,

Pidgeon Ey’d,

Pungey,

Priddy,

As good conditioned as a

Puppy,

Been among the

Philistines,

In his Prosperity,

Philippians,

Pharaoh,

Wasted his Paunch,

Eat a Pudding Bagg.

Raddled,

Rich,

Religious,

Lost his Rudder,

Ragged,

Rais’d,

Richard,

Seafaring,

In the Sudds,

Strong,

Been in the Sun,

As Drunk as David’s Sow,

Swampt,

Sails out,

Seen the yellow Star,

As Stiff as a Ring-bolt,

Half Seas over,

His Shoe pinches him,

Staggerish,

It is Star-light with him,

He carries too much

Sail,

Stew’d,

Stubb’d,

Soak’d,

Soft,

Sir John Strawberry,

with all his Studding

Sails out,

Tongue-ty’d,

Tann’d,

Tipium Grove,

Double Tongu’d,

Topsy Turvey,

Tipsey,

Token,

Valiant,

Got the Indian Vapours.

Out of the Way.

The Phrases in this Dictionary are not (like most of our Terms of Art) borrow’d from Foreign Languages, neither are they collected from the Writings of the Learned in our own, but gather’d wholly from the modern Tavern-Conversation of Tiplers. I do not doubt but that there are many more in use; and I was even tempted to add a new one my self under the Letter B, to wit, Brutify’d: But upon Consideration, I fear’d being guilty of Injustice to the Brute Creation, if I represented Drunkenness as a beastly Vice, since, ’tis well-known, that the Brutes are in general a very sober sort of People.