I Never Knew There Was a Word for It - Adam Jacot De Boinod [79]
der Diesel (German) a mixture of beer and cola
On reflection
To your good health?
Around the world the commonest drinking toast is to good health: Na zdravje (Slovenian), Salud (Spanish), Saúde (Brazilian Portuguese), Kia Ora (Maori), Egészségedre (Hungarian), Gezondheid (Flemish). The Ukrainians take this to the next level with Budmo!, which means ‘let us live forever!’
In contrast, the Scandinavian drinking toast Skål! (pronounced ‘skoal’) has a much more macabre background, as it originally meant ‘skull’. The word is alleged to have come down from a custom practised by the warlike Vikings who used the dried-out skulls of their enemies as drinking mugs.
… or something rather more powerful:
Dreimännerwein (German) a wine so disgusting it takes three men to drink it (two men to make you drink it – you are the third)
kadamsana (Malawi) a very strong home-made spirit (literally, that which brings darkness during the day – aptly describing its knock-out effects)
Vodka vocabulary
The Russians, in particular, have a fine set of words for the many styles of tippling:
pogoda shepchet to take time off from work, or a desire to get drunk (literally, the weather is whispering)
bukhat’ to drink alone
deryabnut’ to drink quickly in order to warm up
gorlo to drink from the bottle
vspryskivat’ to drink in celebration of a holiday or a new purchase (literally, to besprinkle)
daganyat’ sya to drink in order to get drunk, to try to catch up with the amount of drinking that others have already done
otglyantsevat’ to drink beer or wine after vodka (literally, to gloss a photo print)
ostogrammit’sya to drink 100 grams of vodka as a remedy for a hangover
False friends
full (Norwegian) drunk
grogi (Finnish) whisky and soda
pickle (Chilean Spanish) a person who drinks too much
jaw (Zarma, Nigeria) to be thirsty
On a slippery road
And all languages have evocative expressions for being drunk …
sternhagelvoll (German) full of stars and hail
rangi-changi (Nepalese) slightly too multi-coloured
être rond comme une bille (French) to be as round as a marble
redlös (Swedish) ride free
andar cacheteando la banqueta (Mexican Spanish) to go along with one’s cheek on the pavement
… and for the inevitable results of overdoing it:
khukhurhuteka (Tsonga, South Africa) to walk uncertainly, as a drunk man among people seated on the floor
midàbodàboka (Malagasy, Madagascar) to fall over frequently, as drunken men or people on a slippery road
mawibi (Ojibway, North America) drunken weeping
Backhendlfriedhof (Austrian German) a beer belly (literally, cemetery for fried chickens)
ne govori ou samoi muzh piatnisa (Russian) a shrug of understanding when sharing someone else’s problems (literally, no need to explain, my husband is a drunk)
Under the monkey
For the French you are as sober as un chameau (a camel) but as drunk as un cochon (a pig), une grive (a thrush), or even une soupe (a soup). In Lithuanian you can also be drunk as a pig (kiaulė), or then again as a bee (bitelė) or a shoemaker (šiaučius). Elsewhere you can be drvo pijan (Macedonian) drunk as a tree; jwei ru ni (Mandarin) drunk as mud; orracho como una uva (Cuban Spanish) drunk as a grape; bull som en kaja (Swedish) drunk as a jackdaw; itdek mast (Uzbek) drunk as a dog; or einen Affen sitzen haben (German) to be dead drunk (literally, to have a monkey sit on one).
The morning after
It’s only when you get home that you may start to wonder what on earth possessed you:
rhwe (Tsonga, South Africa) to sleep on the floor without a mat and usually drunk and naked
gidravlicheskiy budil’nik (Russian) a full bladder (literally, an hydraulic alarm clock)
sasamudilo (Ndebele, Southern Africa) a drink of beer in the morning after a debauch, a pick-me-up
peregar (Byelorussian) the residual taste of alcohol in the mouth and the heavy stench of low-grade