Sir Billy was not trousered for many decades. However, he has made it possible for the word to be included in the dictionary
Perhaps he didn’t touch a drop since 1980.
But Sir Billy Connolly has managed to get the word ‘trousered’ – to describe being drunk – into the Oxford English Dictionary.
Following his famed popularity of comedy, the comedian legend is now mentioned in the most recent edition.
The dictionary has added a new meaning to trousered, which is slang for intoxicated.
According to the dictionary, Connolly was the person who first mentioned the word in this context. He interviewed Connolly in 1977.
His story was about how he managed to stay sober even after his show. He stated, “After I finish I can be totally trousered with the best among them.” The stuff I’ve never touched before.
Official entry for trousered is: “Slang (chiefly British or Irish English) Drunk, intoxicated.’
According to the dictionary, this word was also used in 2001 by Niall Griffiths (English author) as a description of a drunk character.
Kate Wild, executive editor of the dictionary, stated that the new sense of “drunk” in the dictionary expands on the already large category of drunk. It contains more than 200 words, ranging from Old English fordrunken to the late 20th century coinages like wazzed or mullered.
Sir Billy (79) previously stated that he quit drinking after an evening out with Sir Michael Caine.