drink like a fish

drink like a fish

To frequently drink a lot of alcohol. I'm not surprised to hear that Karl got drunk again last night—that guy drinks like a fish!

See also: drink, fish, like

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

drink like a fish

Fig. to drink alcohol excessively; to be in the habit of drinking alcohol excessively. Jeff really drank like a fish at the party on Saturday. I worry about Nancy; she drinks like a fish.

See also: drink, fish, like

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

drink like a fish

Consume large amounts of alcoholic beverages, as in He always drinks like a fish at holiday dinners. The expression, first recorded in the mid-1600s, alludes to the way fish obtain oxygen, which causes them to be open-mouthed and appear to be constantly drinking.

See also: drink, fish, like

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.

drink like a fish

INFORMAL

If someone drinks like a fish, they regularly drink a lot of alcohol. When I was younger I could drink like a fish and eat like a pig. The father was not too bad but the mother drank like a fish. Note: People used to believe that fish drank constantly because they breathe through open mouths.

See also: drink, fish, like

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

drink like a fish

drink excessive amounts of alcohol, especially habitually.

See also: drink, fish, like

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

drink like a ˈfish

(informal) regularly drink too much alcohol: Her husband drinks like a fish.

See also: drink, fish, like

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

drink like a fish, to

To drink a great deal, usually meaning alcoholic beverages. The simile comes from the fish’s breathing apparatus, which causes it to be openmouthed much of the time, so that it looks as if it were constantly drinking. The expression is quite old, appearing in print in the mid-seventeenth century, and has outlived drinking like frogs, like elephants, and like knights templar, as well as the medieval proverb, to drink like a pope. The newer synonym to drink under the table calls up an image of inebriated persons rolling under the table.

See also: drink, like, to

The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer