half cut

• half-cut (more common)

Originally jocular derivative of now rare use of cut in this sense, which dates from the 17th century, from cut in the leg, to have cut your leg, euphemism for being very drunk.

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half cut (comparative more half cut, superlative most half cut)

1. (informal, UK, Ireland, Australia) Rather drunk.

   Synonyms: see Thesaurus:drunk

   • 1974, John Le Carré, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Folio, published 2009, page 233:

     He had the girl's head on his shoulder but she was half cut and in her seventh heaven, so he just went on talking to me, proud of his English, you see.

   • 1975 July, “Drink Up Thy Zider” (track 6), in The Finest 'Arvest of The Wurzels‎, performed by The Wurzels:

     Drink up thy zider, drink up thy zider, For tonight we'll merry be. We'll knock the milk churns over and roll 'em in the clover, for the corn's half cut and so be we!

   • 2009, Death in Blackpool (The New Eighth Doctor Adventures; 4.01), Big Finish, publisher's summary:

     Lucie Miller always loved Christmas back home in Blackpool. Her Mum running a still-frozen turkey under the hot tap at ten. Great-Grandma Miller half-cut on cooking sherry by eleven. Her Dad and her uncle arguing hammer and tongs about who was the best James Bond all through dinner.

   • 2010 January 9, Alexis Petridis, “Ugg boots for men? No thanks”, in The Guardian‎:

     You think: "That old fella's woken up still half-cut and put on his girlfriend's shoes by mistake."

• “half-cut”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “half-cut”, in Collins English Dictionary.