Stagger soup is a North American slang term for whisky — typically cheap, rough, or strongly intoxicating whisky.
Stagger soup is a North American slang term for whisky — typically cheap, rough, or strongly intoxicating whisky. The name captures the practical effect of drinking enough of it: you stagger. It belongs to the colourful tradition of American frontier and working-class slang for alcohol, alongside terms like 'rotgut,' 'firewater,' and 'skull-cracker.' The register is informal, humorous, and slightly self-aware about the beverage's antisocial potential.
He poured two glasses of stagger soup from a bottle with no label and said it was from a local still.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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(Scotland, slang) Strong fortified wine.
; intoxicated from alcohol, staggering.
British slang, particularly used in Scotland and the north of England, meaning thoroughly drunk. When someone is stoated, they've had far too much and are likely bouncing off walls — which may well be the origin, as 'stoat' in Scottish English can mean to stagger or bounce. The word has a satisfying bluntness to it, painting a picture of someone who is not just merry but genuinely off-balance and unsteady on their feet.
Stirabout is an Irish English term that does double duty. In its most literal sense, it refers to porridge — the traditional oat-based breakfast that you, well, stir about while it cooks. It's a humble, working-class food word with deep roots in Irish rural life. In its second meaning, stirabout describes a commotion or noisy fuss — the kind of drama where everyone's talking at once and nothing is getting resolved. Both senses share the same energy: something in constant, turbulent motion that never quite settles.
(North America, slang) whisky.