Tight = drunk

[Jonathan Lighter]

OED has this back to the 1830s, as will HDAS.

It was very frequent in America from the mid 19th C. on, though it sounds a little old-fashioned to me now. Unlike "high," it seems not to have extended its meaning to include drug intoxication.

For "high," see HDAS.

JL

Bill Lemay <blemay0 at MCHSI.COM> wrote: ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender:       American Dialect Society
Poster:       Bill Lemay
Subject:      Re: Tight = drunk
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Annie Ross penned these vocalese lyrics for "Twisted" in 1952.

===========================

but I heard little children
Were supposed to sleep tight
That's why I got into the vodka one night
My parents got frantic
Didn't know what to do
But I saw some crazy scenes
Before I came to

================

Per Wikipedia...
"Although Ross was born in England (of Scottish parents), she was raised in
the United States — living in California with her aunt"

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