'Bottoms Up'
The expression origins are from the British historical press-ganging of unwary drinkers in dockside pubs into the armed services (mainly the navy) in the 18th and early 19th centuries. Men who 'took the King's shilling' were deemed to have contracted to serve in the armed forces, and this practice of offering the shilling inducement led to the use of the technique in rather less honest ways, notably by the navy press-gangs who would prey on drunks and unsuspecting drinkers close to port. Unscrupulous press-gangers would drop a shilling into a drinker's pint of ale, (which was then in a pewter or similar non-transparent vessel), and if the coin was undetected until the ale was consumed the press-gangers would claim that the payment had been accepted, whereupon the poor victim would be dragged away to spend years at sea. Pubs and drinkers became aware of this practice and the custom of drinking from glass-bottom tankards began. The 'bottoms up' expression then naturally referred to checking for the King's shilling at the bottom of the tankard. (Ack J Burbedge)
Happily ever after (atleast til 2008)...
A drinking expression, rather like cheers, good health, or skol
2 comments:
I'm with you on this. K-man (you like that name?) and I like to eat out but taking Mom it can take so much effort that we eat at home most nights. Mom does love the leftovers for lunch.God forbid she eat a sandwich.
I find it hard to figure out what to fix every night and I hate doing dishes. So much for pretty hands.
Luv you G-woman.
But you meant this comment to be on the posting below.
Comments are at the end of the posting.
Of course Mom doesn't want a sandwich. No fun in that unless of course it is Panera!
Thank you so much for posting.
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