Vinegar
The ancients had several kinds, which they used for drinks.
Harper’s Book of Facts, 1905.
Showing posts tagged drink
Posset
A drink popular in medieval times, it consisted of hot milk or cream curdled by the addition of white wine, ale, sack or molasses. Spices were added for flavor.
The World Encyclopedia of Food by L. Patrick Coyle, 1982.
Sin-Eater
A man who for trifling payment was believed to take upon himself, by means of food and drink, the sins of a deceased person… Usually each village had its official sin-eater to whom notice was given as soon as death occurred.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1910. From All There Is to Know by Alexander Coleman, 1994.
Toast
How did toast come to mean to drink to someone’s health? The toast, or slightly burned bread, spiced, was put in the wine to flavor it - hence, to drink a toast.
More About Words by Margaret S. Ernst, 1951.
Assassin
Arabian hashsashin, eaters of hashish. The original charter-member assassins were a religious sect in Palestine who were sworn by their Sheikh, the “Old Man of the Mountains” to murder all Crusaders. When fervor cooled, their leader gave them hashish to drink.
In a Word by Margaret S. Ernst, 1939.
Land of Cockaigne
The imaginary land of Cockaigne fascinated late medieval writers who produced a considerable literature describing a heaven, with no work and unlimited food and drink scattered freely all over the landscape.
Encyclopedia of Themes and Subjects in Paintings by Howard Daniel, 1971.
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Never drink anything without first smelling it,
Never sign anything without first reading it.
Never dive into pools of depth unknown,
And rarely drink - if you are alone.
Never sign anything without first reading it.
Never dive into pools of depth unknown,
And rarely drink - if you are alone.
Seventeenth-century philosophy. Toasts by Paul Dickson, 1991.
Flap-Dragons
Substances set on fire and placed on the top of liquor, skill being required to drink without being burned. Sometimes they were called candle-ends.
Who’s Who and What’s What in Shakespeare by Evangeline M. O’Connor, 1978.
Negus
A drink made of wine, hot water, lemon, sugar and nutmeg.
Misunderstood, Misused, & Mispronounced Words by Laurance Urdang, 1972.
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I’ll drink to her as long as there is passage in my throat and drink in Illyria.
Twelfth Night. Quotations for Occasions by Katharine B. Wood, 1896.
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Let us drink to have wit, not to destroy it.
Payard. The Magic of Wine by Jacqueline Quillen, 2000.
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If you drink you die; and if you don’t drink you die: so it is better to drink.
Russian Proverbs by Aldren Watson, 1960.
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Women who smoke must drink something stronger than tea.
Advice to Young Ladies from The London Journal of 1855. From Wicked Etiquette by Sarah Kortum, 1995.
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In eating, a third of the stomach should be filled with food, a third filled with drink, and the rest left empty.
Talmud. The Book of Unusual Quotations by Rudolf Flesch, 1957.
