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

Thu Dec 4 16:29:00 UTC 2025

I see Joseph Wright's _English Dialect Dictionary_ (1898) has a similar
entry for "drink" defined as "a lanky, overgrown person" (Scottish), with
the same 1887 cite as SND.

https://archive.org/details/cu31924088038397/page/n188/mode/1up
https://books.google.com/books?id=ga0yAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA175

Wright also gives this etymology:

[Norw. dial. _dreng_, a young lad, a man just grown up (Aasen); ON.
_drengr_, a young unmarried man; cp. Norw. dial. _drengkall_, an unmarried
man.]

I have no idea if that's the actual origin (OED doesn't weigh in), but it
suggests "(long/tall) drink of water" emerged folk-etymologically based on
the resemblance of _dreng(r)_ to _drink_.

--bgz

On Thu, Dec 4, 2025 at 10:26 AM Ben Zimmer <bgzimmer at gmail.com> wrote:

> Thanks for this! The Scottish origin looks like a strong hypothesis based
> on these cites:
>
> ---
> John Service, _The Life and Recollections of Doctor Duguid of Kilwinning_,
> 1887, p. 103
> Stair had grown up into a great lang drink, and would faukled, as Robin
> Cummell said, if he fell.
> https://archive.org/details/liferecollection00serv/page/103/mode/1up
> cited by The Dictionary of the Scots Language:
> https://www.dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/drink
> ---
> I’m sure I dinna ken' what she sees to admire in yon great big
> ostrich-neckit lang drink o' water, wha only needs to be weel steepit in
> tar to mak' a first-rate telegraph pole.
> John Mackey, "Jessie’s Dream, or In Love with the Minister," _John o’
> Groat Journal_, Nov. 21, 1888, p. 3
>
> https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/search/results?NewspaperTitle=John+o%27+Groat+Journal&BasicSearch=%22lang+drink%22
> ---
>
> Ken Liss (who found the 1888 cite) has more on this on his blog:
>
> https://etymology.kenliss.com/blog/long-drink-of-water/
>
> --bgz
>
> On Thu, Dec 4, 2025 at 1:12 AM Emily Gordon <
> 0000205244c4ee9d-dmarc-request at listserv.uga.edu> wrote:
>
>> 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/
>> > > > > ---
>>
>

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