Meanings
- USnot comparableusuallygovernmentThat equivocates on an issue while appearing to affirm both sides, by asserting that each is correct depending on which of two stated alternatives is used as the definition of a key term.
2010, Carol Phillip-Tudor, The Boy, The Professor and Ella's Regret, Dorrance Publishing Company (RoseDog Books), page 103, "You a foolin' nary a soul, mister Emil" says Bilky. "I's thinkin' maybe yourin a usin' the If-by-Whiskey defense. […] "
Origin
Refers to a 1952 speech by Noah S. "Soggy" Sweat Jr. during a debate on whether or not Mississippi should legalize alcoholic beverages. He prefaced his qualified agreement with each side in turn with the formula "if by whiskey you mean..." and a definition of "whiskey" crafted to support that side.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
if-by-whiskey. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/if-by-whiskey
“if-by-whiskey.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/if-by-whiskey. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “if-by-whiskey,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/if-by-whiskey.
Source: if-by-whiskey on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.