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dram-drinking

Noun
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

The habit of habitually drinking spirits or strong liquor; often used in satirical or moral Victorian poetry to depict intemperance.

Detailed Definition
Dram-drinking refers to the habit of drinking small measures of spirits, or “drams.” In the poem it marks the kind of drinking the coachman rejects.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Yet though dram-shops I hate, and the dram-drinking friend” (Burns, “The Author’s Earnest Cry”); “Dram-drinking” means drinking small measures of spirits; “The dram-drinking guest forgot the hour” (social scene); “His dram-drinking became a shadow on the hearth” (critical contemporary use)
Additional Notes
This is an older drinking expression that may puzzle readers because “dram” is not common in modern everyday English.; Found in the poem, The Hackney Coachman by Hannah More
Also Known As
spirits libations potations elixirs
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