(as) drunk as a fiddler
Extremely intoxicated from alcohol. You were as drunk as a fiddler last night, stumbling in here reeking of alcohol! I only meant to stay for one drink, but I wound up getting drunk as a fiddler. Do you remember last night at the pub at all? You got as drunk as a fiddler!
(as) drunk as a lord
Very intoxicated from alcohol. Do you remember last night at all? You were as drunk as a lord! I only meant to stay for one drink, but I wound up getting drunk as a lord. You were as drunk as a lord last night, stumbling in here reeking of alcohol!
(as) drunk as a skunk
slang Extremely intoxicated from alcohol. Do you remember last night at all? You were as drunk as a skunk! I only meant to stay for one drink, but I wound up getting drunk as a skunk. You were as drunk as a skunk last night, stumbling in here reeking of alcohol!
be (as) drunk as a skunk
To be extremely intoxicated from alcohol. Do you remember last night at all? You were as drunk as a skunk! I only meant to stay for one drink—I don't know how I ended up being drunk as a skunk! You were as drunk as a skunk last night, stumbling in here reeking of alcohol!
Let every man skin his own skunk.
proverb Each person should be responsible for their own business, especially that which is unfavorable, undesirable, or unpleasant. It's not your responsibility to help your friend out of his debt—let every man skin his own skunk.
like stink on a (monkey/skunk/pig/etc.)
Vigorously or intensely. When information about the president's scandalous affair was leaked, every news outlet in the nation was on it like stink on a monkey. My little brother's been following me around like stink on a pig lately.
skunk at a garden party
Someone or something that is unwelcome or unpleasant. Running into my ex at that important networking event was like encountering a skunk at a garden party.
skunk at the garden party
Someone who is unwanted within a group, as due to their pessimism, unpopular opinions, detraction against the group as a whole, etc. I learned early on to speak my mind and be truthful to myself. If that makes me the skunk at the garden party all my life, then so be it. The senator frequently spoke out against his party's more extreme beliefs, drawing the ire of many party loyalists and making him something of a skunk at the garden party.
skunk-drunk
slang Extremely drunk. We were all too skunk-drunk to notice that Jackson had left the party. Tom was so skunk-drunk by the end of the night that he could barely even speak.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
*drunk as a lord
and *drunk as a skunkvery drunk. (*Also: as ~.) After his fifth cocktail, Michael was as drunk as a lord. Judy bought herself a case of beer and proceeded to get as drunk as a skunk.
Let every man skin his own skunk.
Prov. Everyone should do his own job and not interfere with others.; Each person should do his own dirty work. We weren't supposed to help each other with the homework. "Let every man skin his own skunk," the teacher said.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
drunk as a lord
Also,
drunk as a fiddler or skunk ;
falling-down or roaring drunk . Extremely intoxicated, as in
He came home drunk as a lord. The three similes have survived numerous others. The first was considered proverbial by the mid-1600s and presumably alludes to the fact that noblemen drank more than commoners (because they could afford to). The
fiddler alludes to the practice of plying musicians with alcohol (sometimes instead of pay), whereas
skunk, dating from the early 1900s, was undoubtedly chosen for the rhyme. The most graphic variant alludes to someone too drunk to keep his or her balance, as in
He couldn't make it up the stairs; be was falling-down drunk. And
roaring drunk, alluding to being extremely noisy as well as intoxicated, was first recorded in 1697. Also see
dead drunk.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
drunk as a skunk
or drunk as a lord
mainly BRITISH, INFORMALIf someone is as drunk as a skunk or as drunk as a lord, they are very drunk. I'm sorry, honey. It was my fault. I was drunk as a skunk. She was drunk as a lord for seventeen days. She could do nothing.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
drunk as a lord (or skunk)
extremely drunk.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
(as) drunk as a ˈlord
(British English) (American English (as) drunk as a ˈskunk) (informal) very drunk: I eventually found them in a bar, both as drunk as skunks. OPPOSITE: (as) sober as a judgeFarlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
skunk
1. n. a mean and hateful person. (see also
polecat,
stinker.)
Must you be such a skunk in front of my friends? 2. tv. to outwit someone. That fish skunked me. I thought I caught him for sure this time.
skunk-drunk
mod. alcohol intoxicated. He was skunk-drunk and didn’t want to be bothered.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
drunk as a lord/skunk
Extremely intoxicated. The first expression, known since the seventeenth century and considered a proverb by 1651 (“The proverb goes ‘As drunk as a lord,’ ” John Evelyn,
A Character of England), is based on the idea that the aristocracy could and did indulge in drunkenness more than commoners did, presumably because they could afford to. The more recent
drunk as a skunk, American in origin, undoubtedly became popular on account of its rhyme; it dates from the early 1900s. Both clichés have survived the demise of numerous other similes, among them drunk as an ape (from Chaucer’s time), tinker, fish, goat, owl, emperor, piper, fiddler (because he was plied with alcohol at wakes, fairs, and similar feasts), swine or pig, devil, beggar, blazes, David’s sow (based on an ancient anecdote explained in Francis Grose’s
Classical Dictionary, and current from the seventeenth century), and others. See also
drink like a fish;
tight as a tick.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer
drunk as a lord
Extremely drunk. Members of the nobility could afford to keep quantities of wine, beer, and liquor on hand, and as much out of envy as stating a fact, the common folk described anyone, titled or not, who had a load on by that phrase. In these more egalitarian times, “drunk as a skunk” and, less elegantly, “shit-faced drunk” have replaced “drunk as a lord.”
Endangered Phrases by Steven D. Price Copyright © 2011 by Steven D. Price