Grain And Grape. Go Ape Or Another Animal?

Yesterday’s word on my Forgotten English calendar was swattle, which means to drink voraciously, and with a noise, as a duck does.

Underneath this was Thomas Nashe’s (1592) described animal-inspired archetypes of drunks.

Ape drunk. He leaps and sings and hollers and danceth to the heavens.

Lion drunk. He flings the pots about the house, calls his hostess whore, breaks the glass windows with his dagger, and is apt to quarrel with any man that speaks to him.

Swine drunk. Heavy, lumpish, and sleepy and cries for a little more drink.

Sheep drunk. Wise in his own conceit when he cannot bring forth a right word.

Martin drunk. The man is drunk and drinks himself sober ere he stir.

Goat drunk. In his drunkenness, he hath no mind but on lechery.

Fox drunk. Is crafty drunk as many of the Dutchmen be.

This is the grape vine outside my back door. I hope to photograph an Essex vineyard again soon when the grape leaves have turned.