Ben Franklin’s Words for Drunkenness.

My excellent wife referred me to Ben Franklin’s 229 Words for Drunkenness, thinking that it would bring me cheer and perhaps LH material, and she was right on both counts. Jack Shepherd writes: Anyone who’s had a toad and a half for breakfast, taken Hippocrates’ grand elixir, or been too free with Sir Richard knows that a thump over the head with Samson’s jawbone is sometimes more trouble than it’s worth. If none of that made much sense to you, take it up with Benjamin Franklin, who — when he wasn’t busy drafting the Declaration of Independence or flying his kite in a lightning storm — appears to have spent a surprising amount of time collecting amusing expressions about the dangers of drinking to excess. Despite his contention that “Drunkenness is a very unfortunate Vice,” Franklin was by no means a teetotaler. […] But as much as Franklin enjoyed a decent French wine, he was also committed to the virtue of moderation, and it was in this spirit that he published his “Drinkers…