tight as a tick

[Dennis R. Preston]

I agree. Tight as a tick meant drunk only when I was a youngun and
larnt the expression. It was also the only meaning I collected in a
large number of proverbial comparisons reported in my 1980 article
Proverbial comparisons from southern Indiana. Orbis 24,1:72-114.
Sounds like Ms. Couric tryin to be home folks, but maybe the
limitation to drunk is regional.

dInIs

>---------------------- Information from the mail header
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>Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>Poster:       Darla Wells <dlw3208 at LOUISIANA.EDU>
>Subject:      tight as a tick
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>
>I was watching the news last night and saw that Katie Couric described the
>South Carolina presidential race between Obama and Clinton as being "tight as
>a tick." I always understood the expression to mean that someone had had too
>much to drink. Interesting implications if it means what I was taught...
>Darla
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--
Dennis R. Preston
University Distinguished Professor
Department of English
15C Morrill Hall
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824
517-353-4736
preston at msu.edu

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