h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I think i have just taken umbrage at the phrase "drunkness, for some strange reason has a large lexicon in Ireland".

And why might that be??

Scandanavian and Icelandic cultures have many words for snow, that however doesn't infer that they get drunk on it.

I think it is a bit rich this kind of inference, in view of the fact that the city of Dublin has banned English Stag/Hen nights, since these people appeared to believe that to go to Ireland and get irresponsibly drunk was acceptable, a comment like this just perpetrates that ignorant english myth.

Now I am angry.

glitternimway,

This still doesn't mean we have anyless words for getting scuttered,langered drunk.

Now I'm a bit confused . I don't really understand how you got the inference that I was saying that drunkeness was acceptable.

What I meant was that drinking is part of the culture, which most certainly it is. A Saturday night out in any town in Ireland (and a trip to the local A&E afterwards) would immediately confirm this. There are plenty of stats to back up the fact that we are currently binge drinking at a worse rate than most other European nations. All the words mentioned by me in the article *are* commonly used in Ireland (among others that I couldn't mention! ). So, whether we like it or not (and personally I don't like it), it's very much a fact of life here.

drinking is a big part of our culture here in australia, or at least it seems that way sometimes - like ireland, we have numerous differernt ways of saying that we are intoxicated - but i've never seen that as an endorsement of irresponsible drinking, and i didn't read your article that way.

our colloquialisms are important to us because they're part of our national character, and how we identify with our fellow australians. we've got just as much slang for men and women, what's good and what isn't and all the other stuff that makes up life. it's the same in ireland, and probably the same in outer mongolia, or anywhere else you could point to on the globe.

cheers again on a great article.

Thanks salicyclic,

In a nutshell, you've said it better than I could have.

oops!

Woodpigeon

slainte!

We're also the highest drug users in the EU and in a completly seperate poll the "Happiest" students in the world.Coincedence?I think not.