A Conversation for The History of Gin (and Tonic)

Dead drunk...

Post 1

DogManStar

It's a tiny point, but that saying is 'Drunk for a penny, dead drunk for tuppence, straw for nothing', not '*a* straw for nothing' - the implication being that after gin to the value of tuppence, you'll collapse insensible onto the straw-covered floor. Sometimes it's written as 'clean straw for nothing', too. It was a sign displayed in a gin shop in East London, and picked up upon by the nascent tabloid press to illustrate the plight of the London poor.

As it stands, this reads as if the customer is being offered a free drinking straw, instead of an alcoholic coma.


Dead drunk...

Post 2

GinTonyx - Keeper and Mixer of the Gin and Tonic, Muse of the Lemon Garden.

Interesting point...

...I did not know that. Wierd! Wild! How can we update the entry?


Dead drunk...

Post 3

DogManStar

Your subeditor should be able to arrange it for you - drop them a line.

Cheers!


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