brick in one's hat

noun

Etymology

US, circa 1846. Presumably due to staggering walk when drunk; compare top-heavy with drink.

Definitions

  1. Drunkenness.

    • Seated at the same table with our Mr.—, was a gentleman, who, to use the current phrase, ‘had a brick in his hat.’
    • Her husband had taken to the tavern, and often came home very late, “with a brick in his hat,” as Sally expressed it.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

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sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA