Billy Connolly gets 'trousered' into the dictionary | Slang term for drunk © ITV

Billy Connolly gets 'trousered' into the dictionary

Slang term for drunk

comedyThe word ‘trousered’ – to mean being drunk –  has been added to the dictionary, thanks to Sir Billy Connolly.

The comedian is credited with the first recorded use of the term, in a 1977 interview when he spoke about drinking after gigs.

He said: ‘After I’ve finished, I can get totally trousered along with the best of them. But I never touch the stuff before.’

Now the word has entered the Oxford English dictionary with the definition: ‘Slang (chiefly British and Irish English). Drunk, intoxicated. Frequently in to get trousered.’

Editor Jonathan Dent explained in a blog post that the ‘colourful expression for being or becoming (very) drunk [was] apparently popularised by Glaswegian comedian Billy Connolly’.

And his colleague Kate Wild, said the new addition had joined an extensive selection of synonyms.

She said: ‘The newly added sense trousered meaning "drunk" expands what is already one of the largest categories, drunk, which contains over 200 words: from Old English for drunken through to late 20th century coinages such as wazzed, mullered, twatted, bollocksed, and – now – trousered. 

‘And that’s just the main category drunk: if 200 or so synonyms aren’t enough for your needs, there are many more specific terms in subcategories such as partially drunk, riotously drunk, and completely or very drunk.’

Published: 6 Jan 2022

Live comedy picks

We see you are using AdBlocker software. Chortle relies on advertisers to fund this website so it’s free for you, so we would ask that you disable it for this site. Our ads are non-intrusive and relevant. Help keep Chortle viable.