half-seas-over
1half seas over — slang for drunk, 1736, sometimes said to be from notion of a ship heavy laden and so low in the water that small waves (half seas) wash over the deck. This suits the sense, but the phrase is not recorded in this alleged literal sense. Half seas… …
2Half seas over — Half seas o ver (s[=e]z [=o] v[ e]r). Half drunk. [Slang: used only predicatively.] Spectator. [1913 Webster] …
3half-seas over — drunk All the other states of drunkenness preceded by half indicate a condition of intoxication no less than the whole. In this case there is no seas over to be halved. It is used either of total drunkenness: I m half seas o er to death …
4half-seas over — | ̷ ̷ˌ ̷ ̷| ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ adjective slang : drunk * * * /haf seez , hahf /, Slang. drunk; intoxicated; inebriated. [1545 55] * * * half seas over «HAF SEEZ, HAHF », 1 …
5Half seas over — Sea Sea (s[=e]), n. [OE. see, AS. s[=ae]; akin to D. zee, OS. & OHG. s[=e]o, G. see, OFries. se, Dan. s[ o], Sw. sj[ o], Icel. s[ae]r, Goth. saiws, and perhaps to L. saevus fierce, savage. [root]151a.] 1. One of the larger bodies of salt water,… …
6half-seas-over — /haf siz ˈoʊvə/ (say hahf seez ohvuh) adjective Colloquial intoxicated. Also, (especially in predicative use), half seas over …
7half seas over Brit. — half seas over Brit. informal, dated fairly drunk. → half …
8half-seas over — /haf seez , hahf /, Slang. drunk; intoxicated; inebriated. [1545 55] * * * …
9Half-seas-over — intoxicated …
10half-seas-over — Australian Slang intoxicated …
