_Bumper_ "a cup or a glass filled to overflowing with hard drink"

[Jonathan Lighter]

Let every man toss off a full bumper,
Let every man toss off a full glass;
And let ye be merry and drown melancholy,
And drink a success to each true-hearted lass!

                                              - song, "Spanish Ladies"
(ca1820)


On Thu, Apr 17, 2014 at 12:07 AM, Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      _Bumper_ "a cup or a glass filled to overflowing with hard
> drink"
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> This was briefly mentioned, back in '08. Having nothing better to do, I've
> dated back a while:
>
> "Nay drain the brisk Bumper, we'll not bate you an ace."
>
> A Pacquet from Parnassus: Or, a Collection of Papers, ... ... - Page 1
> 1702
> http://goo.gl/S6gDaw
>
> The drink, in this case, is ale/beer with lemon juice. There's a word for
> this concoction, but I'm blocking on it.
>
> _Shandy_! That's it.
>
> item #82885 (6 Jul 2008 17:34) - Barry, as forwarded by G,    supplies the
> cite:    "... we though[t] of their delicate healths in a _bumper_ [of
> their  gift of wine, I assume] ..."
>
> When I was in high school, one of the Jesuits habitually referred to
>  drinking beer as    "... having a few _bumpers_ of the amber goodness ..."
>    This is the only other time that I've come across "bumper" used in
>  connection with an alcoholic beverage.  FWIW, "swallows" also strikes me
> as a word that might be used in  punning on the drinking of akka-haul.
>
> --
> -Wilson
> -----
> All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint to
> come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> -Mark Twain
>
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