There are many expressions for being drunk. I can remember quite a few from my younger days. The terms I can print, include, wasted, loaded, sozzled and three sheets to the wind. But have you heard of being an Admiral of the Narrow Seas? Recently I have discovered some truly colourful historic and often hilarious historic slang words for being in drink.
Our language is constantly evolving and it is interesting to re-visit some of these words or 'sayings' from the past. Particularly the quirky ones. They can hold their own glimpses into the lives of our ancestors. A good example is this old naval phrase Admiral of the Narrow Seas in the 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgur Tongue:
Admiral of the Narrow Seas or Admiral for the Guard of the Narrow Seas was a prestigious Royal Naval appointment. His responsibility was to guard England's close territorial waters from foreign threats. The post holder was chiefly responsible for the command of the English Navy's 'Narrow Seas Squadron', also known as the Eastern Squadron that operated in the two seas which lay between England and France (the English Channel particularly the Straits of Dover) and England and the Spanish Netherlands later the Dutch Republic (the southern North Sea) from 1412 to 1688.
This trend to attach fictitious titles to various persons and characters seems to emerge in the eighteenth century. For example Captain Queernabs was a shabby ill-dressed fellow, Captain Cork was a man who was 'slow in passing the bottle,' an Admiral of the Red ' was a prolific wine drinker and Admiral of the White - a coward.
Three or Four Sheets to the Wind also probably derived from nautical terminology. A "sheet" is the rope or chain that controls the sails of a tall ship; if several sheets are loose or mishandled, the boat's movement becomes unsteady and difficult to control, like that of a drunk person.
Of course there are plenty of other vintage naval expressions for being intoxicated:
He has more sail than ballast.
He has his main-brace well spliced.
He is half-seas over.
He has been fighting the booms.
He is pumping the ship
How did our navy ever 'rule the waves'?
