"it's five o'clock somewhere"

Posted by David FG on November 23, 2006

In Reply to: "It's five o'clock somewhere" posted by UnderOneHut on November 22, 2006

: Does anyone have information on the origin of the phrase "it's five o'clock somewhere"? My understanding is that it is associated with "cocktail hour" or "happy hour" despite the fact that it is not truly 5:00 (the traditional quitting time from work).

It's an excuse to have a drink. The reasoning being that it is (arbitrarily) considered OK, by some, to drink alcohol after 5pm (but not before), so anyone wanting an alcoholic drink before then would claim that it is 5 o'clock somewhere in the world, and it is therefore OK to have a drink.

DFG