Sloshed to the gills

Posted by Baceseras on February 23, 2010 at 13:42

In Reply to: Sloshed to the gills posted by Carole Carpenter on February 23, 2010 at 08:34:

: A recipe for Plum Pudding in the American Women's Club of Calgary - "The Blue Bird Cook Book", ca. 1924, calls for 2 gills of wine, brandy or orange juice. I remember my parents using the phrase "sloshed to the gills" many years ago. Does anyone know of the origin of this?

[There's no connection to "gills of wine" or to gills of any other liquor - the "gill" which is a measure of liquid is pronounced with a soft 'g' (djill); the phrase "sloshed to the gills" (hard 'g') calls up the image of a fish, a common comparison applied to drunks. - Bac.]