'Squizzed': Study Finds 546 English Words for Drunk
You may have heard of the rather romantic idea that there are 100 words for snow in the Inuit languages.
It's a nice story, but it's probably not true — the real number is maybe about half that, which is still quite a lot.
Although if you speak English, you might think that's nothing, because in the English language there may be as many as 546 words for "getting drunk."
That's according to researchers from Germany, who shared this slightly less romantic idea in an article published this February.
They included a list in the appendix to their article, and while some of these synonyms are far too rude to be written here, others are almost cute!
You can be "wobbly" or "woozy," "stoated" or "squizzed."
Then there's "trousered" and "newted," "nazzy" and "minced." The list goes on, and on, and on.
There is a common pattern for the use of many of these words, the researchers found. It's the verb "to be," followed by an intensifying adverb — like "totally" — and a word ending in "-ed."
For example, "I am totally squizzed."
But the thing is, it doesn't really matter what that final word is, as long as it ends in "-ed."
For example, the word "maggoted" is one of those many synonyms. But a maggot really has nothing to do with drinking or alcohol.
This may be difficult to understand for anyone learning English. But the researchers said English-speaking adults only understand the meanings of words like these because they are so used to hearing synonyms for "drunk" that follow this pattern.
However, not all the words follow the same pattern: some come from rhyming slang, while others have been invented by people enjoying some creative wordplay, perhaps after one or two drinks.
You could even make up your own and add to that very long list. But if you do drink, don't forget to enjoy your alcohol responsibly!
