Often at night, following a few beers, I am able to have some creative thoughts once I have placed the stresses of the common day in the far reaches of my mind. It's rather paradoxical, since I can only think at night once the moon is out, but I can only write during the day, with the sun legitimizing my efforts as I envision other famous writers honing their crafts at the same time.
Typically at night, often with the assistance of a drink, I will think of something, jot it down in my notebook or on the Word function on the B Berry so that I may revisit it the following morning. Last night, as a female friend and I were sitting beneath the graffiti-littered canope of the gazeebo on Queen Street East, I was informed that she could drink me under the table. No doubt I replied with something along the lines of a 'No Shit', but nonetheless, I was left thinking about the origins of the term.
With a little research, it became apparent that the old adage Drink You Under The Table is an Idiom because it is a culturally specific term and it is not meant to be taken literally. Despite its contextual relevance, it was once a very literal term that now represents the ability of one person to out-drink another, but why Under The Table?
Apparently the idiom originates in the era of horse and buggy and cowboy and indian when men would drown their many sorrows at the local saloon. Originally, to drink somebody under the table meant that the losing competitor of a drinking challenge would actually pass-out and lay beneath the table as a result of the over-consumption of alcohol. This once literal term has been applied to modern-day drinking rituals and is used a the primary means of establishing one's dominance regarding the ability to out-drink a friend.
The More You Know!
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