drunk as a boiled owl
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
Thoroughly drunk; inebriated.
Register: colloquial
Where it’s used:
Used
American English
Sources & notes
Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).
Common questions
What does “drunk as a boiled owl” mean?
Thoroughly drunk; inebriated.
Is “drunk as a boiled owl” formal or informal?
drunk as a boiled owl is generally colloquial.