Drink Like a Fish

Meaning of Idiom ‘Drink Like a Fish’

To drink like a fish means to drink large amounts of alcohol; to drink too much alcohol, especially habitually.

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Usage

This expression usually refers to someone who habitually consumes excessive amounts of alcohol, but it can also be used to describe a single occasion of drinking.

Examples of Use

“Ted drinks like a fish most nights but you’d never know when he comes to work. He always seems completely sober and he never even has a hangover.”

“Oh, my head is killing me,” said Vicky. “I drank like a fish at my sister’s party last night.”

Origin

Used in print as early as the mid-1600’s, this idiom alludes to the way fish swim through the water with their mouths open in order to obtain oxygen, making them appear to be constantly drinking water.

More Idioms Starting with D

• Days Of Yore
• Hot Potato
• Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t
• Dot Your i’s and Cross Your t’s
• Don’t Believe Everything You Read

More Alcohol Related Idioms

• Half in the Bag
• Hit the Bottle
• Go Cold Turkey
• Fall Off the Wagon
• Bottoms Up

More Animal Related Idioms

• Beat a Dead Horse
• Monkey Around
• Go Whole Hog
• Fox Guarding the Henhouse
• I’m Going to See a Man About a Horse (Dog, Duck) Meaning
• Fish Story

More Drink Idioms

• Drink the Kool Aid

More Fish Idioms

• Fish Story
• Not the Only Fish in the Sea
• Big Fish in a Small Pond, a
• Fish Or Cut Bait
• Cold Fish

More Like Idioms

• Like Nobody’s Business
• Know Something Like the Back Of One’s Hand
• Watch Like a Hawk
• Like Shooting Fish in a Barrel

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