Langers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A term referring to objects or substances that cause intoxication or drunkenness ; used colloquially to describe a state of being heavily intoxicated or under the influence of alcohol ; can denote things that induce a sensation of elation or dizziness
2. Informal expression for alcoholic beverages or intoxicants ; describing a condition of extreme drunkenness or losing control due to alcohol consumption ; referring to elements that trigger an altered, euphoric mental state
3. A slang word for drinks that lead to intoxication ; indicating a person or state characterized by excessive inebriation ; naming items that create feelings of dizziness or pleasure resulting from alcohol intake

Etymology: "Langers" is the plural of "langer", a slang term that has been used in Britain and Ireland for alcoholic drink and for a state of heavy drunkenness. The singular "langer" itself has no firmly established origin, and the candidates that have been proposed pull in very different directions. One suggestion ties it to the langur, a long-tailed monkey of South Asia, through a British regiment, the Munster Fusiliers, which was stationed in India. Another links it to "languor", the sense of listless weariness that drink can produce. A third treats it as a variant of "long", perhaps from "on the lang", a supposed variant of "on the lam". A less likely candidate comes from Irish, where "leangaire" was a dictionary term for an unusually long, slender salmon. Because no single origin has been established, the slang's exact path into English remains open, and the term is best understood as a colloquial coinage whose meaning shifted over time from the drink or the drinker to the intoxication itself.

Synonyms: drunks, inebriates, alcoholics

Antonyms: teetotalers, sober