"That's a great deal to make one word mean," Alice said in a thoughtful tone. "When I make a word do a lot of work like that," said Humpty Dumpty, "I always pay it extra."
Showing posts with label guzzle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label guzzle. Show all posts

Sunday, 24 March 2013

Guttle and guzzle

   To guttle was to swallow or to feed luxuriously - in which latter sense it was, according to Johnson, a low word.    Presumably it was a forerunner of the word guzzle which is still in use today and means to eat or drink (something) greedily.   Cars, for example, are notorious for guzzling petrol.