bottle (redirected from hits the bottle)

bottle

drinking alcohol. His friends thought he was a bit too fond of the bottle. She tried to stay away from the bottle, but she never could manage it for long.

bottle something up 

1. Lit. to put some sort of liquid into bottles. She bottled her homemade chili sauce up and put the bottles in a box. She bottled up a lot of the stuff.

2. Fig. to constrict something as if it were put in a bottle. The patrol boats bottled the other boats up at the locks on the river. The police bottled up the traffic while they searched the cars for the thieves.

3. and bottle something up (inside (someone)) Fig. to hold one's feelings within; to keep from saying something that one feels strongly about. Let's talk about it, John. You shouldn't bottle it up. Don't bottle up your problems. It's better to talk them out. Don't bottle it up inside you. Don't bottle up all your feelings.

See also: up

chief cook and bottle washer

Fig. the person in charge of practically everything (such as in a very small business). I'm the chief cook and bottle washer around here. I do everything.

See also: and, chief, cook, washer

cork high and bottle deep

Rur. very drunk. By the time the party was over, he was cork high and bottle deep.

See also: and, cork, deep, high

crack a bottle open

Fig. to open a bottle of liquor. Let's crack open a bottle and celebrate. He cracked a bottle open and poured a little for everyone to try.

See also: crack, open

hit the bottle and hit the booze

Fig. Inf. to go on a drinking bout; to get drunk. Jed's hitting the bottle again. He's been hitting the booze for a week now.

See also: hit

You cannot put new wine in old bottles.

Prov. You should not try to combine the new with the old. I think it is a mistake for the managers of that traditional art gallery to exhibit modern paintings. You can't put new wine in old bottles. Doug's attempt to teach ancient Chinese medicine to doctors trained in Western medicine was not a success. "I guess I can't put new wine in old bottles," Doug thought ruefully.

See also: cannot, new, old, put, wine

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be chief cook and bottle washer  (humorous)

to be the person who is responsible for cooking meals and washing the pans and dishes It's my birthday party, so Alan is chief cook and bottle washer tonight.

See also: and, chief, cook, washer

hit the bottle

to start drinking too much alcohol regularly, usually in order to forget your problems He lost his job and hit the bottle.

See also: hit

let the genie out of the bottle  (mainly American)

to allow something bad to happen which cannot then be stopped

Usage notes: In old Arabian stories, a genie was a magic spirit that would do whatever the person who controlled it wanted.

With the Internet, we really let the genie out of the bottle. People now have unlimited access to all manner of material. (mainly American)

See also: genie, let, out

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bottle up something also bottle something up

1. to not express something She bottled up her emotions throughout the tournament. The more you bottle that anger up, the more likely it is that it will explode.

2. to keep something from making progress The French navy had bottled up the British navy. Lawmakers in key positions can bottle things up for months.

See also: up

hit the bottle

to drink too much alcohol I was disgusted with myself for having hit the bottle again.

See also: hit

the genie is out of the bottle

something has become known Efforts to ban cloning cannot succeed - the genie is out of the bottle.

Usage notes: often used in the form put the genie back in the bottle: Once people got used to e-mail, it was impossible to put this genie back in the bottle.

Etymology: based on the story of a genie (magic being) who was released from a bottle and then helps the person who let it out

See also: genie, out