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Meaning & use

liquor courage

noun·Advancedinformaldisapproving

Last updated

UK/ˈlɪkə ˌkʌrɪdʒ/
US/ˈlɪkər ˌkɜːrɪdʒ/
Usage warning: this word is disapproving. It shows a negative opinion, so take care with who and what you use it about.

Meaning

  1. noununcountableinformaldisapproving

    The false feeling of confidence that some people get from drinking alcohol, which makes them do things they would normally avoid.

    Grammar: Uncountable; used with 'have' or 'get': 'He had a bit of liquor courage before the speech.'

    Patterns

    • have liquor courage
    • get liquor courage
    • a bit of liquor courage

    He was too shy to ask her to dance until he had a few drinks and found some liquor courage.

    She said she needed a little liquor courage before making the phone call to her boss.

    The team lost because they relied on liquor courage instead of proper training.

Common combinations

a bit of liquor courage
He had a bit of liquor courage before he told her how he felt.
find liquor courage
After two glasses of wine, she found the liquor courage to sing karaoke.
Dutch courage
The British say 'Dutch courage' for the same idea.

Synonyms and how they differ

Dutch courage
The common British equivalent, but it is more idiomatic and often used with 'a bit of'.
false confidence
A neutral term that does not necessarily involve alcohol.

Opposites

sobernesstimidity

Word family

liquid courage noun
A humorous variant that uses 'liquid' instead of 'liquor'.

Commonly confused: liquor courage or Dutch courage?

liquor courage vs Dutch courage

Same meaning, but 'Dutch courage' is the standard British idiom; 'liquor courage' is a more literal American variant.

Practice

He was nervous about the interview, so he had a drink to give himself some ______.

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