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slapping her arms together around herself
CO2
Jan 15, 2011 18:19
13 yrs ago
5 viewers *
English term

Drink like a fish

Non-PRO English Art/Literary Idioms / Maxims / Sayings
For my own academic purposes, I would like to know if there are in English any other expressions equivalent to drink like a fish, especially associated with a particular nationality, if any.
Thank you in advance.
And I'm sorry, but there's no context.
Responses
5 +3 be a heavy drinker
5 +2 he has a hollow leg
5 Drink heavily, especially of alcoholic drink.
5 he/she likes his/her drink
5 he could drink me under the table
5 be a real soak
5 he has drunk.... see below
3 +1 she/he needs her/his drink to survive/live
4 drink like there's no tomorrow
4 to lift/bend the elbow
4 to drink like a navvy
3 is on a liquid diet

Responses

+3
3 mins
Selected

be a heavy drinker

Instead of saying "he drinks like a fish," you could say "he is a heavy drinker."

For an interesting assortment of expressions from other languages, see:
http://verbmall.blogspot.com/2010/03/drink-like-fish.html

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Note added at 41 mins (2011-01-15 19:00:15 GMT)
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Here's an exhaustive collection of alcohol-related idioms:
http://Freaky_Freya.tripod.com/Drunktionary/drunkcentral.htm...

Most describe a state of drunkenness, but there are a few that describe drinking ability or habits. Bottoms up!


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Note added at 1 hr (2011-01-15 19:40:30 GMT)
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We also sometimes say "drink like a sailor." See:

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/friends-family-alcoholic...
"Think you can drink like a sailor? Maybe you should take a moment to reflect on what that truly means."
Note from asker:
Thank you for the links, it's what I was looking for. And yeap, there are many expressions.
Peer comment(s):
agree Demi Ebrite : "Drunktionary" seems to have quite a collection of 'drunk' idioms.
1 hr
Thank you! Yes, I had no idea that there were that many. ^_^
agree British Diana
15 hrs
Thank you!
agree Sheila Wilson : Your "drink like a sailor" reminds me of "drunk as a lord". I suppose lords can afford it more easily. Pretty much everyone drinks too much in the UK - lords and sailors alike!
1 day 1 hr
Good point. I wonder if these two idioms illustrate the historical cultural gap between the U.K. and the U.S. Or perhaps you use both expressions on that side of the ocean. Cheers!
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
3 mins

Drink heavily, especially of alcoholic drink.

.

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Note added at 4 mins (2011-01-15 18:23:45 GMT)
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Drink like a fish
Meaning

Drink heavily, especially of alcoholic drink.
Origin

Clearly an allusion to fishes' close association with water and their continuous open-mouthed taking in of water to obtain oxygen. The phrase is known since 1640 and appears in Fletcher and Shirley's The night-walker, or the little theife, from that date:

"Give me the bottle, I can drink like a Fish now, like an Elephant."

'Drink like an elephant' didn't catch on. There is a more recent potential boost to use 'drink like a fish' - at least for Californian Valley girls. In January 2005 a press release for the Dalian Fisherman's Song Maritime Biological Brewery in China, said that they had developed a fermentation process to make fish into wine. So now, you can 'drink, like, a fish'.
Note from asker:
Thank you!
Something went wrong...
7 mins

he/she likes his/her drink

implies they drink a lot, another one is 'drinks like there's no tomorrow', but this applies to anyone who does something excessively and irresponsibly

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Note added at 9 mins (2011-01-15 18:28:55 GMT)
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i.e. someone who is over indulging themselves at Christmas, people might say, 'he/she's eating like there's no tomorrow'
Note from asker:
Thank you!
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10 mins

he could drink me under the table

another one we say locally here
Note from asker:
Thank you!
Peer comment(s):
neutral Cilian O'Tuama : any more perfect answers?
10 hrs
do I detect a note of sarcasm?
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+1
11 mins

she/he needs her/his drink to survive/live

like a fish needs water to live, said person needs (I assume) alcohol to live.
Note from asker:
Thank you!
Peer comment(s):
agree British Diana : I think this refers to the amounts of water the fish "drinks"/I agree that the fish need that much water just as an alcoholic needs his "Stoff". However what is missing in your paraphrase is the ease with which the alcoholic gulps the stuff down
15 hrs
That's what my answer means, needing it like the fish needs water. An alcoholic without his booze is like a fish without water...near death.
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35 mins

drink like there's no tomorrow

...with no thought to the consequences
Note from asker:
Thank you!
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1 hr

be a real soak

He's a real soak.

Obviously, the person soaks up alcohol like a sponge.

http://books.google.fr/books?id=CAqYY92xGykC&pg=PA514&lpg=PA...

http://www.tripme.co.nz/forums/showthread.php?t=2793&page=3

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Note added at 1 hr (2011-01-15 19:24:41 GMT)
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Here's what the Free dictionary has to say:
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/soak

Another is:

"he likes a drop"

I might be completely wrong but I associate this more with the Irish, although it's not uncommon in British English.
Note from asker:
Thank you, Sheila! "To drink like a sponge" is one of the most popular expressions for heavy drinking in many languages. One thing for sure, there are so many variants regarding heavy drinking. All the best.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Cilian O'Tuama : why CL5 if you might be completely wrong ?
9 hrs
I am 100% sure of the use, believe me. The only query is whether "he likes a drop" is really very common in Ireland, as I've never been there - perhaps you could help there, Cilian?
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2 hrs

is on a liquid diet

has a liquid diet.

just another suggestions to the many good ones already offered!

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Note added at 2 hrs (2011-01-15 20:33:07 GMT)
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Drinking large amounts of alcohol on an empty stomach.
J: "Dude, I've had 6 beers and I didn't eat dinner tonight."
A: "You're on a liquid diet bro."

(Urban dictionary)
Note from asker:
Thank you!
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3 hrs

to lift/bend the elbow

Another colourful expression

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Note added at 3 hrs (2011-01-15 21:48:41 GMT)
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http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/bend elbow
Note from asker:
Thank you! And yes, really colorful! I didn't imagine they were so many.
Something went wrong...
5 hrs

he has drunk.... see below

Just a few more. Alas - no reference to other nations.

drinks the cross off an ass
he has drunk more than he has bled
gets canned up to the crow's nest
boozing up the lone's jib
drinks until his teeth catch cold
drinks like a beast
drinks like a camel
drinks like a fire engine
drowns himself in the bottle
drinks himself dead
swills like a tinker
a slave to drink
bending his elbow too much
bowing to the bottle
gone to Mexico
he is grogging on
he has gutter mouth
intemperate as Silenius
knows how the cards are dealt
he is on chemical parity with reality
he is on the coctail route
he is on the grog
painting his nose
pickled himself
pissy-arsed
rushing/working the growler (growler - pitcher)
permanently under the weather
keeps taking on fuel
he has thrown away the cork
he is under the wagon
well preserved, well pickled

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Note added at 18 hrs (2011-01-16 12:47:58 GMT)
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I revel in the richness of the language, and I enjoyed putting this list together.
The question was: “I would like to know if there are any other expressions equivalent to drink like a fish…” - that is to say someone drinks a lot.

Now I realise I should have written: there are plenty of them, but I could only offer you these if the question is moved to the forum. Otherwise, with a bit of luck and given time, more people will participate to give you more answers here.

I’ll explain how all these expressions came to be aired. Take it that I have several split personalities, and I let them loose accidentally. Would you want to chastise all thirty or so of them, poor diddums? :-)
Note from asker:
Thank you! Apparently most languages compare heavy drinking to animals, professions, etc.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Cilian O'Tuama : so this is the non plus ultra answer ?
5 hrs
I had fun compiling these expressions. Is it a sin? Forgive me!
neutral Rachel Fell : I don't recognise any of these as synonyms for "to drink like a fish"
12 hrs
What can I say? ;-)
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18 hrs
English term (edited): to drink like a fish

to drink like a navvy


Don't bother bringing any for Weirdie.....she is a lightweight. I bet Margaret can drink like a navvy though! (snigger)
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=463188&page=...

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Note added at 19 hrs (2011-01-16 13:19:40 GMT)
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Are you a weirdo???, tell us about it!!! « The New Adventures of ...
12 posts - 5 authors - Last post: 5 Jul 2007
My grandma used to always say that I dress like a navvy, drink like a navvy and eat like a navvy. I think people who get excited over mundane things like toiletries like bubble bath and deodorant are weird. I just can't understand the whole "OMG let's go in Body Shop!!" as though it's something fun. I don't get it, it's just stuff to wash yourself with.
www.stephenfry.com/forum/topic/are-you-a-weirdo-tell-us.../...

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Note added at 19 hrs (2011-01-16 13:30:23 GMT)
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actually, I'm not sure that there are that many alternative ways of saying it, i.e. to drink a lot habitually; there are many dozens of ways of saying to have drunk a lot, but that isn't the same thing.
Note from asker:
Thank you!
Something went wrong...
+2
9 mins

he has a hollow leg

drinks like a fish => he has a hollow leg

to have a hollow leg - Idioms - by the Free Dictionary, Thesaurus ...
to have a hollow leg. Fig. to have a great capacity or need for food or drink. Bobby can drink more beer than I can afford. I think he has a hollow leg! ...
www.idioms.thefreedictionary.com/to have a hollow leg -

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Note added at 20 hrs (2011-01-16 14:54:24 GMT)
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"has a hollow leg"
About 28,100 results

Urban Dictionary: hollow leg
"My best friend has a hollow leg. She can drink 3 40 oz. bottles of Colt ... Look at Ralf pack the food away. I think he has a hollow leg. .
www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=hollow leg

Idioms
have a hollow leg. - to be able to eat or drink a lot. I think that my friend has a hollow leg. He never stops eating. ...
www.idiomconnection.com/legfoot.html

To have hollow legs - it.narkive.com
15 Oct 2005 ... "He has a hollow leg", meaning he has a high tolerance for alcohol, is common in the US. I think "Hollow legs" means the same thing for ...
www.it.narkive.com/2005/10/15/3530614-to-have-hollow-legs.h...

Review for USMLE: United States medical licensing examination, ... - Google Books Result
Kenneth Ibsen, Nandan Bhatt - 2006 - Medical - 634 pages
However, he also states he has a "hollow leg" and the alcohol doesn't affect his functioning in any way. Physical examination reveals a distended abdomen ...
www.books.google.com/books?isbn=0781765226...

To have hollow legs
Il 15 Ott 2005, 19:38, "joscurtin" ha scritto: > > "He has a hollow leg", meaning he has a high tolerance for alcohol, > is common in the US ...
www.it-cultura.confusenet.com/showthread.php?t=218962 -
Note from asker:
Thank you!
Peer comment(s):
neutral Sheila Wilson : I'm really not sure about this one. I've never heard it before and neeither has the Free dictionary, apparently // Your link didn't show it but Amel's does. I suspect it's AE usage that I've never come across. So many other choices available to Brits!
52 mins
this was in my original post: www.idioms.thefreedictionary.com/to have a hollow leg -
neutral Arabic & More : I, too, have not heard the phrase (and thus can't vouch for it), but it is indeed listed at the Free Dictionary: http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/to have a hollow leg
1 hr
"has a hollow leg" ..About 28,100 results ...Is that enough for yu
agree Demi Ebrite : I have heard this ' hollow leg' idiom in AE, but I don't know the origin.
1 hr
thank you
neutral Cilian O'Tuama : am not familiar with it, but like it. might even agree if confidence were modest.
10 hrs
if confidence were modest. ???
agree British Diana : I've heard of it!
15 hrs
thank you
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