Meanings
- Drinking hard alcoholic beverages, such as liquor, before light alcoholic beverages, such as beer and wine, will not lead to a hangover, while the reverse order will.
1 more example
As we enjoy the festive season, many strongly held beliefs about avoiding hangovers are thrown around. One is that mixing different types of drinks is likely to make you feel unwell during your drinking session and contribute to a worse hangover. There are sayings like "beer before liquor, never been sicker. Liquor before beer, you're in the clear", or "wine before beer will make you feel queer, but beer before wine and you'll feel fine".
2018 January 1, “Shaken not stirred by mixing drinks”, in The New Zealand Herald, page A13
Origin
Of uncertain origin. Based on the common misconception that the order in which different kinds of alcoholic beverages are consumed necessarily causes hangovers or other ill effects.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
beer before liquor, never been sicker; liquor before beer, you're in the clear. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beer%20before%20liquor%2C%20never%20been%20sicker%3B%20liquor%20before%20beer%2C%20you're%20in%20the%20clear
“beer before liquor, never been sicker; liquor before beer, you're in the clear.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beer%20before%20liquor%2C%20never%20been%20sicker%3B%20liquor%20before%20beer%2C%20you're%20in%20the%20clear. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “beer before liquor, never been sicker; liquor before beer, you're in the clear,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/beer%20before%20liquor%2C%20never%20been%20sicker%3B%20liquor%20before%20beer%2C%20you're%20in%20the%20clear.
Source: beer before liquor, never been sicker; liquor before beer, you're in the clear on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.