As the year of 2003 draws to a close, it’s perhaps appropriate for a moment’s reflection on what we inevitably, but perhaps sadly lose through evolution and the passage of time. Language, for instance, is continually evolving, as words drop out, perhaps never to be uttered or heard of again. Not unexpectedly, this phenomenon can and does apply to the matters of eating and drinking. Maybe it’s time we considered this loss, and even contemplated re-introducing some eating and drinking terminology into the modern vernacular. Here, for instance, are several genuine old terms and their meanings that perhaps have not been used at all since they fell out of favour sometime in the 18th and 19th centuries: Symposiast: One of a drinking party, a banqueter. Smellfeast: The uninvited dinner guest. Shotdog: A companion tolerated because he/she pays for the drinks. Potvaliant: Somebody who is courageous through drink. Supernaculum: The act of drinking the very last drop in either the bottle or glass. If, in future, I hear anybody using these terms correctly, I’ll know I have met a subscriber to this site. My thanks to my educated, erudite and not entirely unmischievous father, Rodney Oliver, for the research behind this scholastic vignette.
