Among his many achievements, Benjamin Franklin was the publisher and editor of The Pennsylvania Gazette, which offered news, opinion, and humor to its readers.
The humor includes “The Drinker’s Dictionary” brought out by Franklin in January 1736. The piece begins with a condemnation of drunkenness I don’t take with complete seriousness since Franklin is also famous for saying “Beer is proof God loves us and wants us to be happy”.
In any case, The Dictionary features more than 200 “round-about Phrases” or slang terms “to signify plainly that A MAN IS DRUNK.”
Some of this slang does not make much sense, having grown enigmatic over the past 270 years. However, I think that makes it funnier, the way some drunk men become more amusing as they make less sense. Here is a selection of my favorites:
B. He’s Biggy, Boozy, Bowz’d, Buskey, Buzzey, Bungey. He’s kiss’d black Betty.
C. He’s been too free with the Creature. Sir Richard has taken off his Considering Cap.
G. He’s Glad, Groatable, Gold-headed, Booz’d the Gage, As Dizzy as a Goose.
J. He’s Jolly, Jagg’d, Jambled, Going to Jerusalem, Jocular, Been to Jerico, Juicy.
P. He’s as good conditioned as a Puppy. He’s been among the Philippians. He’s contending with Pharaoh.
R. He’s Rocky, Raddled, Rich, Religious, Lost His Rudder, Ragged, Rais’d.
S. He’s Steady, Stiff, Stew’d, Stubb’d, Soak’d, Soft.
W. He’s Wise. He’s Wet.
Peter Galen Massey 
A bit different to the terminology in use nowadays
But the tone feels very similar. At least it does to me, although I admit I believe essential human nature really hasn’t changed throughout history as recorded, and I’m fast to spot evidence to confirm this belief.
Oh, we have lost so many lovely words from our everyday language. When did being drunk get so boring?
There was a piece in The Economist this week about drinking in Britain, which is not funny in its excesses, that used “sozzled” and a few other choice terms. So I think they still exist. Ben wasn’t your typical tippler either, of course, being the Renaissance man of the American Revolution (I’d give him the nod over Jefferson: I know those could be fighting words). Anyhow, Ben hung out with the most interesting and energetic people in Philadelphia, and I’m sure that increased his vocabulary. The bible references also add a dimension that isn’t common today. Thanks for stopping by!
I rather like the term ‘Religious’ and wonder what coined it.
Cool little post. I’ll be reading Franklin’s Autobiography for the third time this year. He’s one of my favorite historical personages.
Thanks! I found this in The Library of America’s volume titled “Benjamin Franklin: Writings”. It has articles, essays, letters, satires, pamphlets, speeches, parts of “Poor Richards” from throughout his life. Great stuff, a lot of it really short, so you can read around it when you are short on time and mental energy (I have kids and a day job, so with me it’s both). One of my other favorites is “A Witch Trial at Mount Holly” which I wrote about in a previous internet incarnation as an Examiner. I hadn’t adopted my nom de plume then, but I think the old post is still out there. Actually, this is a rewrite of an Examiner piece as well. I’m self plagiarizing. Anyhow, Ben wrote this piece about witches making sheep sing and other hilarious things, which seems to have deceived at least some people.
Haha! Taking off the considering cap is fantastic! I’m using that.
Use it sober, people will think you’re tipsy. Use it tipsy, they’ll think drunk.