English

Adjective

half seas over ‎(not comparable)

1. (slang) Partly drunk.
   • 1830, Richard Warner, “chapter XIII”, in Literary Recollections, volume II, London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, OCLC 6065177, page 6, footnote:

     Many of my readers will recollect the memorable night, on which William Pitt and his ingenious friend and jovial compotator, Harry Dundas, went into the House of Commons, in a condition usually described by the phrase "of being half seas over."

Usage notes

The phrase is used only predicatively.

See also

• Wikisaurus:drunk