(as) sober as a judge

Other figures associated with sobriety are occasionally used in place of "judge," typically ecclesiastical figures such as "deacon," "priest," "parson," etc.

1. Stoic and reserved, perhaps even somber. Anita has been as sober as a judge ever since she heard of Marshall's death. The coach stood at the side of the field, sober as a judge, as the clock counted down on his team's championship ambitions. When I walked into the boss's office and everyone was sober as a judge, I knew I was being laid off.

2. Calm and rational. We need someone who can consider these issues without their emotions interfering—you'll need to be as sober as a judge from beginning to end! I don't want you in this meeting if you can't be sober as a judge. The last thing I want to do is referee a fight between the two of you. I don't think we should discuss this now, while we're all worked up about it. Let's reconvene in a few days when we're sober as a judge.

3. Not at all intoxicated by drugs or alcohol. I haven't been drinking at all, I swear! I'm as sober as a judge! Bill tried to convince me he was sober as a judge, but I didn't buy it—that's why I didn't let him drive home. John's remained sober as a deacon ever since the car accident three years ago.

See also: judge, sober

a drunk mind speaks a sober heart

proverb A person who is inebriated is less inhibited and thus more likely to say what they truly think or feel. Commonly attributed to French philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau. A: "After about our fourth or fifth drink, Sarah suddenly turned to me and confessed that she'd always loved me." B: "Wow! A drunk mind speaks a sober heart, I guess!" We were at the Christmas party, we all had had too much to drink, and suddenly I just started pouring out all the anger and frustration that had been building up in me all year. I guess a drunk mind speaks a sober heart. I know that a drunk mind speaks a sober heart, so whenever I need to get the truth out of someone, I just open a bottle of wine!

See also: drunk, heart, mind, sober, speak

a sobering thought

A thought or idea which is dispiriting, depressing, or traumatic. It's a sobering thought when you consider how many people go without clean water every day. The renovation could end up taking three months, instead of three weeks? Well, there's a sobering thought. A: "You know, you might not get into your first-choice school." B: "Gee, thanks, Dad, that's a sobering thought."

appeal from Philip drunk to Philip sober

To urge one to rethink something. The phrase refers to King Philip II of Macedon, who made an unwelcome decision and was challenged with an appeal to "Philip sober." If you're unhappy with his decision, then why don't you appeal from Philip drunk to Philip sober? She can't be serious with this. I think she'll change her mind if we appeal from Philip drunk to Philip sober. I'm sorry, sir, but because I believe this is a terrible decision, I simply must appeal from Philip drunk to Philip sober

be (as) sober as a judge

1. To be stoic and reserved, perhaps even somber. Anita has been sober as a judge ever since she heard of Marshall's death. The coach was sober as a judge as the clock counted down on his team's championship ambitions. When I walked into the boss's office and everyone was sober as a judge, I knew I was being laid off.

2. To be calm and rational. He's usually as sober as a judge, so I'm confident that he'll make a sound decision. I don't want you in this meeting if you can't be sober as a judge. The last thing I want to do is referee a fight between the two of you. I don't think we should discuss this now, while we're all worked up about it. Let's reconvene in a few days when we're sober as a judge.

3. To be not at all intoxicated. I haven't been drinking at all, I swear! I'm sober as a judge! Bill tried to convince me he was sober as a judge, but I didn't buy it—that's why I didn't let him drive home. John's remained sober as a deacon ever since the car accident three years ago.

See also: judge, sober

cold sober

Completely sober; not intoxicated to any degree by drugs or alcohol. I'm cold sober, so I'll drive us home. No, I'm not high—I've been cold sober from the day I started working here! Jenna was cold sober that night at the bar. Maybe she can tell us what really happened.

sober up

1. To recover from the effects of alcohol or drugs on one's body or mind. I need to sober up soon—I can't go into work staggering around like this! We decided to go take a walk in the cool night air to sober up a little before heading home.

2. To help or cause someone to recover from the effects of alcohol or drugs on one's body or mind. In this usage, a noun or pronoun can be used between "sober" and "up." Go make a pot of coffee! We need to sober Kevin up before his parents come back.

3. To cease being happy, merry, flippant, or distracted; to become serious or solemn. When the chief put the pictures of the victims up on the white board, the whole room sobered up.

4. To cause or compel someone to cease being happy, merry, flippant, or distracted; to make someone serious or solemn. We were all goofing around during practice until the coach threw a chair through the window—that sobered us up straight away.

5. To give up drinking alcohol or taking drugs as a means of dealing with or overcoming one's addiction. I sobered up ten years ago to save my marriage, and I haven't looked since. Instead of simply throwing everyone in prison, why not offer programs to help some of these addicts sober up and start leading productive lives?

See also: sober, up

stone sober

Completely sober; not intoxicated to any degree by drugs or alcohol. I'm stone sober, so I'll drive us home. No, I'm not high—I've been stone sober from the day I started working here!

stone-cold sober

Completely sober; not intoxicated to any degree by drugs or alcohol. I'm stone-cold sober, so I'll drive us home. No, I'm not high—I've been stone-cold sober from the day I started working here!

wanton kittens make sober cats

proverb One who behaves wildly in youth often shows more restraint in adulthood. I wouldn't worry too much about your son's interest in partying—wanton kittens make sober cats most of the time.

*sober as a judge

1. Cliché very formal, somber, or stuffy. (*Also: as ~.) You certainly look gloomy, Bill. You're sober as a judge. Tom's as sober as a judge. I think he's angry.

2. Cliché not drunk; alert and completely sober. (*Also: as ~.) John's drunk? No, he's as sober as a judge. You should be sober as a judge when you drive a car.

See also: judge, sober

sober someone up

1. Lit. to take actions that will cause a drunken person to become sober. some coffee ought to sober him up. He tried to sober himself up because he had to drive home. They tried to sober up the guys who had been out all night.

2. Fig. to cause someone to face reality. The harsh reality of what had happened sobered him up immediately. The arrival of the police sobered up all the revelers.

See also: sober, up

sober up

to recover from alcohol or drug intoxication. Barlowe had one hour to sober up and get to the station. It took him a while to sober up.

See also: sober, up

stone(–cold) sober

and cold sober

absolutely sober. I am stone-cold sober, or I will be by morning anyway. I found the secret to waking up cold sober. Don't drink.

sober as a judge

Not at all intoxicated, quite clear-headed, as in Even after three drinks he was sober as a judge. Why judges should be equated with sobriety is not known, but the simile was first recorded in 1694.

See also: judge, sober

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.

sober as a judge

BRITISH, OLD-FASHIONED

If someone is as sober as a judge, they have drunk no alcohol at all. For five years I was as sober as a judge.

See also: judge, sober

Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012

appeal from Philip drunk to Philip sober

ask someone to reconsider, with the suggestion that an earlier opinion or decision represented only a passing mood.

This phrase comes from an anecdote told by the Roman historian and moralist Valerius Maximus concerning an unjust judgement given by King Philip of Macedon : the woman condemned by Philip declared that she would appeal to him once again, but this time when he was sober.

sober as a judge

completely sober.

See also: judge, sober

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

(as) sober as a ˈjudge

not at all affected by alcohol: I was driving, so of course I was sober as a judge. OPPOSITE: (as) drunk as a lord

See also: judge, sober

ˌstone-cold ˈsober

having drunk no alcohol at all: By the time I arrived at the party, everyone else had had quite a few drinks, whereas I was stone-cold sober. OPPOSITE: blind drunk

sober up

1. To have one's feeling of intoxication subside: I waited until I had sobered up and then drove home.

2. To cause someone's feeling of intoxication to subside: The jailer grabbed a pail of water and a cup of coffee to sober up the drunk. That nap really sobered me up, but I still have a hangover.

3. To overcome an alcohol or drug addiction: It wasn't until I had sobered up that I was able hold a steady job.

4. To become serious, grave, or solemn: Everyone sobered up and felt ashamed when they heard the bad news.

5. To make someone or something serious, grave, or solemn: The news of the disaster sobered them up. The accident sobered up the workers, reminding them how dangerous their job was.

See also: sober, up

(as) sober as a judge

mod. as sober (free from alcohol) as it is possible to be. Kelly—who was starched as could be—claimed to be sober as a judge.

See also: judge, sober

sober as a judge

verb

See as sober as a judge

See also: judge, sober

cold sober

mod. sober; completely sober. (see also sold cober.) He had a fine head on and wanted more than anything to be cold sober and alert.

sober up

in. to recover from alcohol or drug intoxication. Marlowe had one hour to sober up and get to the station.

See also: sober, up

stone (cold) sober

mod. absolutely sober. I am stone cold sober, or I will be by morning anyway.

stone sober

verb

See stone cold sober

sober as a judge

In full possession of one’s faculties; not at all intoxicated. The equation of judges and sobriety was made long ago. An early appearance in print is in Terence Made English (1694) by an unknown author: “I thought myself sober as a judge.” It remains current on both sides of the Atlantic.

See also: judge, sober

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References in periodicals archive

At the end of this phase, a report indicating the result of the treatment is sent to the Probation Office and Welfare Center In this study maintaining soberness in the positive medical board report is considered a successful treatment.

Determination of clinical and socio-demographical differences of adolescents applying to a treatment center with family encouragement or the decision of the probation office and determination of predictive factors in maintaining soberness among probation cases

Hence, in his reading of Buchner's chicken-sententia, Emil Staiger admires the sententia's "brief severity, this inexorable soberness" but also warns of its "extreme cruelty" (141, 146).

The spirit of matter in Buchner

An element of soberness has taken over in his letters.

Iconicity as the key to the poetry of Nelly Sachs (1891-1970)/Ikonisiteit as sleutel tot die digkuns van Nelly Sachs (1891-1970)

2011 "Policing 'Below the State' in Germany: Neocommunitarian Soberness and Punitive Paternalism." Contemporary Justice Review 14,1: 21-41.

Introduction: policing the crisis--policing in crisis

It is as though the puritanical, obsessive and ascetic soberness of the former, the systole, had a mundane expansion in the latter, the diastole.

Regimes of cannibality: a peripheral perspective on war, colonization and culture

After being ridiculed for their priorities (speech, appearance, and goals), he and Faithful exhibit patience, meekness, quietness, and soberness during the beatings and imprisonment they suffer.

The Pilgrim's active Progress

Despite the soberness of this article and perhaps considered by some as depressing, I feel it is important to share what is going on in the banking world in an economic crisis like most of us have never seen.

The financial crisis & our banking system

Surely, the soberness of Posenenske's work and its potential for conflict (people might argue about what to do with the works or how to manipulate the revolving panels) run counter to the sunny address of a great deal of contemporary relational work.

Public options: Christine Mehring on the art of Charlotte Posenenske

To derive a sense of the gulf that opened up between the two branches of Christianity, we need only compare the soberness of the earliest extant Protestant chapel in Schloss Torgau in Germany (1544; Fig.

The ethics of beauty: for centuries the importance of beauty in our built environment has divided opinion, but good architecture acts as a crucial reminder of our human fallibility and a moral ideal for which to aim

At first, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayip Erdogan seemed as if he were leading a demonstration organized by the Hamas Movement in Gaza and as if he were feeling so enthusiastic and moved by the feelings and voices of the participants that he was reiterating with them Ahmadinejad's slogans on the imminent end of Israel - had it not been for some diplomacy and soberness.

The Limits of Turkish Eloquence

The answer to this reticence was, as Fifield proclaimed in the title of his article, 'We Need A Leader--Now!' In a veiled sideswipe at the current President, Fifield called for "a stalwart, upstanding and adequate leader, who would raise and make manifest a standard to which all good men could repair." He recommended Douglas MacArthur for the role because "people would listen, and would be persuaded by the logic of his position--the eloquence and soberness of truth." (30)

The importance of Christian thought for the American libertarian movement: Christian Libertarianism, 1950-71

The "six elements" in the third line refer to the policies adopted by the most diligent rulers in Chinese history: maintaining soberness, encouraging education, exploiting geography, promoting the worthy, managing legal cases justly, and guaranteeing equitable taxes (Tian 2003, 71).

The adulators and the adulated: religious patronage of a regional ruler in early tenth-century China

Nurturance vies with soberness in the obstinate grey Quaker donkey of her childhood.

The experience of biography: decisions in organizing and writing Chapter One

The one rhetorical device at his disposal, which he certainly did not forego, was an artful soberness and thesis-like rigor in the construction of his ideas' (426).

Theodore Kisiel and Thomas Sheehan, eds.: Becoming Heidegger: On the Trail of His Early Occasional Writings, 1910-1927