[Ads-l] "long drink of water" redux

[Emily Gordon]

There are juicy speculations, Scots, and cites on this Stack Exchange post
on the phrase:

https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/235815/what-does-it-mean-to-call-someone-a-drink-of-water


On Tue, Dec 2, 2025 at 10:12 AM Ben Zimmer <
00001aae0710f4b7-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:

> If we're looking at the same thing, the 1912 cite is actually for "tall
> like a drink of water."
>
> ---
> The Times (Hammond, Ind.), Aug. 6, 1912, p. 4, col. 7
> Supposing then on the other hand that you're a sparse person and rather
> tall like a drink of water.
>
> https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-tall-like-a-drink-of-water/186067856/
> ---
>
> That similative usage is akin to Garson's 8/6/06 find ("'Fritz' looks like
> a drink of water") and mine from 9/2/06 ("a figure like a long drink of
> water"), as opposed to the full-on metaphor (as in the 11/12/06 cite).
>
> There's also a "long, tall drink of water" from 1914:
>
> ---
> Birmingham (Ala.) News, Sept. 2, 1914, p. 10, col. 1
> Long, tall drink-of-water Perryman heaved in such great shape for Atlanta
> that the Barons were unable yesterday to score.
>
> https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-birmingham-news-long-tall-drink-of-w/186068104/
> ---
>
> (Lanky baseball pitchers were often the ones being described as long/tall
> drinks of water in the early days.)
>
> --bgz
>
> On Tue, Dec 2, 2025 at 7:36 AM Jonathan Lighter <
> 00001aad181a2549-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
>
> > There's also a "tall drink of water," in Newspapers.com from 1912 and
> > GenealogyBank from 1922.
> >
> > JL
> >
> > On Tue, Dec 2, 2025 at 1:26 AM ADSGarson O'Toole <
> > 00001aa1be50b751-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
> >
> > > Interesting topic, Ben. Here is a slightly earlier match without the
> > > "long".
> > >
> > > Date: August 6, 1906
> > > Newspaper: Cole County Daily Democrat
> > > Newspaper Location: Jefferson City, Missouri
> > > Article: Local Epitome
> > > Quote Page 3, Column 3
> > > Database: Newspapers.com
> > >
> > >
> >
> https://www.newspapers.com/article/jefferson-city-tribune-drink/186052674/
> > >
> > > [Begin excerpt]
> > > "Fritz" Raithel, the hot proposition on High street, left today for a
> > > trip to Niagara Falls and Coney Island. "Fritz" looks like a drink of
> > > water when he has Sunday clothes on and he will certainly startle the
> > > New Yorkers.
> > > [End excerpt]
> > >
> > > Here is a match with "drink of carbonated water".
> > >
> > > Date: May 26, 1906
> > > Newspaper: The Atlanta Constitution
> > > Newspaper Location: Atlanta, Georgia
> > > Article: Grounds Damp; Nothing Doing
> > > Quote Page 9, Column 3
> > > Database: Newspapers.com
> > >
> > >
> > >
> >
> https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-constitution-carbonated/186052840/
> > >
> > > [Begin excerpt]
> > > All of the Atlanta players lost flesh on the road. Baxter Sparks says
> > > he lost 20 pounds. He looks as if he'd lost a few surplus avoirdupois,
> > > but if we were to lose 20 pounds he'd look like a drink of carbonated
> > > water.
> > > [End excerpt]
> > >
> > > Garson
> > >
> > > On Mon, Dec 1, 2025 at 11:03 PM Ben Zimmer
> > > <00001aae0710f4b7-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
> > > >
> > > > Back in 2005, I posted about "long drink of water" = 'tall slim
> person'
> > > (in
> > > > HDAS from 1936), with cites from 1914-15.
> > > >
> > > >
> https://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2005-May/049271.html
> > > >
> > > > In 2009, OED3 added "long/tall drink of water" to the entry for
> > "drink,"
> > > > taking it back to 1913. Here it is from 1906 (the first cite is
> > > similative).
> > > >
> > > > ---
> > > > Buffalo Times, Sept. 2, 1906, p. 40, col. 7
> > > > Joe Moore, who has a figure like a long drink of water and who hails
> > from
> > > > Chicago, is known in the crook world as "Chicago Slim."
> > > >
> > >
> >
> https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-buffalo-times-long-drink-of-water/186047513/
> > > > ---
> > > > (New York) Evening World, Nov. 12, 1906, p. 4, col. 1
> > > > Judge Charies N. Bulger, of Oswego, laughed heartily at the State
> > > > Chairman's description of the tall, slender-necked Brooklyn statesman
> > as
> > > > a "long drink of water."
> > > >
> > >
> >
> https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-evening-world-long-drink-of-water/186046806/
> > > > ---
> > > >
> > > > --bgz
> >
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
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>

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