brannigan

• branigan

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.) Bran(n)- refers to an ancient king of Wales, his name meaning "raven" in Old Welsh. His head is said to be buried under the Tower of London & is why, it is said, that ravens flock to it. "-igan" is an Anglicization of the Brythonic Gaelic surname suffix "-yggan" which means "descendant of".

brannigan (plural brannigans)

1. binge, bender, booze-up (where alcohol is drunk)
   • 1977, Harry Allen Smith, The Life and Legend of Gene Fowler:

     In the last decade of his life he went for long stretches without touching booze. Then stresses and strains would build up inside him and he would embark on a brannigan.

2. brawl, fight
   • 2005, Louis L'Amour, May There Be a Road: Stories:

     The second round was a brannigan from bell to bell. Both men went out for blood and both got it.