top-heavy with drink

comparative more top-heavy with drink · superlative most top-heavy with drink

1. idiomaticraredrunk

   To have a brick in one’s hat, verb. phr. (American).—To be top-heavy with drink. For synonyms, see Drinks and Screwed.

   1893, John Stephen Farmer, Slang and Its Analogues Past and Present: Vol. III—Fla. to Hyps.,, page 278

   3 more examples

   Imagine yourself about to embark on the New York Limited Express for the eastern metropolis; the train made up of ten Pullman passenger, two baggage and one express cars; with an engineer top-heavy with drink, a conductor braced up to a degree of conviviality, the train-dispatchers along the line overworked and sleepy.

   1910, Avery N. Beebe, “Enforced Sobriety”, in The World To-day, volume 19, page 1164

   Her sister, Sadie, on the other hand, is top-heavy with drink, drugs, and a serious overdose of eyeshadow. She has hopes of following — or staggering — in the footsteps of her sister.

   1995 December 11, The New Yorker, page 110

   …including the climactic moment at the conclusion of the recording when George stepped forward (in the tradition of La Scala, Milan) to receive a bouquet but fell into the audience and was too top-heavy with drink to get back on-stage.

   2007, John Chilton, Hot Jazz, Warm Feet,, page 124

   Synonyms: drunk