in the drink

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in the drink

1. (idiomatic) In or into a body of water.
   • 1907, Samuel Hopkins Adams, Stewart Edward White, chapter 8, in The Mystery:

     "I'm broke. I came down here wondering whether I'd better throw myself in the drink."

   • 1920, Peter B. Kyne, chapter 44, in Kindred of the Dust:

     "I've been in the drink," and he related the tale of his recent adventures. "Your raftsman saved my life."

   • 2010 May 24, Peter Ha, “Point, Click, Drop and Dive”, in Time:

     When it comes to cameras, the only thing worse than dropping one on the ground is dropping one in the drink.

2. (idiomatic, possibly dated) Under the influence of an intoxicating beverage.
   • 1892, W. H. Hudson, chapter 1, in Fan: The Story of a Young Girl's Life:

     [H]e ain't so bad neither, when he's not in the drink. He's sorry he hit me now."

   • c. 1893, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Little Saint Elizabeth:

     "It's no place for the loike o' yez," she said. "An' it black noight, an' men and women wild in the drink; an' Pat Harrigan insoide bloind an' mad in liquor."

   • 1896, George MacDonald, chapter 12, in Salted With Fire:

     "I cannot tell what I may have done in the drink. I may even have told his name, though I remember nothing about it!"

• (under the influence of an intoxicating beverage): See Thesaurus:drunk