“An alcoholic is someone you don’t like who drinks as much as you do”
“An alcoholic is someone you don’t like who drinks as much as you do” is a drinking saying that has been printed on many images. Authorship is unknown.
“LATEST DEFINITION of an alcoholic: A guy you don’t like to see drink as much as you do!” was printed in the Chicago (IL) Daily Tribune on January 16, 1952. “‘An alcoholic,’ quoth the Deacon (Allen—ed.) for no good reason at all, ‘is some one you don’t like, who drinks as much as you do’” was printed in The Globe and Mail (Toronto, ON) on February 6, 1952. “A Washington wag offers this definition of an alcoholic: ‘A guy you don’t like who drinks as much as you do’” was printed in the Philadelphia (PA) Inquirer on February 21, 1952.
Welsh poet and writer Dylan Thomas (1914-1953) has been credited with the saying since at least 1967. Thomas was well-known, and it’s unlikely that he first said it in 1951-52 and that he wouldn’t be credited until much later.
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16 January 1952, Chicago (IL) Daily Tribune, “Recorded at Random” by Judith Cass, pt. 2, pg. 3, col. 1:
LATEST DEFINITION of an alcoholic: A guy you don’t like to see drink as much as you do!
6 February 1952, The Globe and Mail (Toronto, ON), “Silences Doubters: McFater Proves He’s Big Timer” by Jim Vipond, pg. 12, col. 1:
“An alcoholic,” quoth the Deacon (Allen—ed.) for no good reason at all, “is some one you don’t like, who drinks as much as you do.”
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21 February 1952, Philadelphia (PA) Inquirer, “Washington Background,” pg. 29, col. 2:
A Washington wag offers this definition of an alcoholic:
“A guy you don’t like who drinks as much as you do.”
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7 July 1952, Courier-Post (Camden, NJ), “It Happened Last Nit” by Earl Wilson, pg. 12, col. 4:
There was a wave of “alcoholic” definitions. An alcoholic was somebody who drinks about like you do, but you don’t like him, said the TV producer Jack Hertel.
21 October 1953, Cleveland (OH) Plain Dealer, “The Breakfast Commentator” by Wes Lawrence, pg. 18, col. 7:
Then to dinner at the S.s. were Ginny C. gave us a definition for an alcoholic—someone you don’t like who drinks as much as you do.
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5 January 1954, Pasadena (CA) Independent, Mike Connolly column, pg. 25, col. 3:
Definition of an alcoholic: Someone you hate who drinks as much as you do.
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3 November 1954, The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY), “Ruby’s Report” by Larry Boeck, sec. 2, pg. 9, col. 1:
What’s the definition for an alcoholic?...He’s a guy you don’t like who drinks as much as you do.
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5 February 1955, Asbury Park (NJ) Evening Press, “Skelton Show On the Upgrade In New Format” (AP), pg. 9, col. 4:
He (Red Skelton—ed.) added: “Have you heard the definition of an alcoholic?—someone you don’t like who drinks as much as you do.”
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Volume 51, Issues 1-18
1958
Pg. 9:
That reminds us of one of our favorite definitions: “An alcoholic is a friend you don’t like who drinks as much as you do.”
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22 September 1967, Newark (OH) Advocate, “Quips & Quotes,” pg. 4, col. 5:
Alcoholic: Someone you don’t like who drinks as much as you do.—Dylan Thomas.
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The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations
Fifth Edition
Edited by Elizabeth Knowles
New York, NY: Oxford University Press
2001
Pg. 772:
A man you don’t like who drinks as much as you do.
definition of an alcoholic
Constantine Fitzgibbon Life of Dylan Thomas (1965) ch. 6
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Dylan Thomas-“An alcoholic is someone you don’t like who drinks as much as you do”. On writers and booze http://econ.st/1tdhuc3 #econarchive
6:30 PM · Oct 27, 2014·SocialFlow
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Title An Alcoholic is Someone You Don’t Like who Drinks as Much as You Do- Blank Lined Notebook, Diary, 6"x9” Lined Pages, 120 Pages: Blank Lined Notebook Journal for Work, School, Office - Funny Novelty Gag Gift for Friends, Family and Coworkers.
Author Paper Wizard
Publisher Independently Published, 2020
ISBN 1657352366, 9781657352360
Length 122 pages
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An alcoholic is someone you don’t like who drinks as much as you do. -Dylan Thomas #QotD
8:32 PM · Feb 16, 2020·Saying Sender