Tell me more ×
English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 0 down vote favorite

I just come across a word teetotalers that means "A person who never drinks alcohol". What will be the opposite of this word in the same context?

share|improve this question
What would be the opposite for you? A person who drinks sometimes (= not never), as logics would say, or a person who always drinks, which would be the other extreme? – Raphael Sep 23 '12 at 15:50

2 Answers

up vote 2 down vote accepted

Most of the time I think you want "drinker" - for example "there will be both drinkers and teetotalers at the party" or "keep in mind that not every dinner guest will be a drinker." That just means someone who sometimes drinks - after all a painter doesn't paint 24/7, a writer doesn't write 24/7 etc. If you want something opposite in the sense of "opposite end of the spectrum" then "drunkard" while old fashioned will work. Avoid "alcoholic" because some alcoholics no longer drink at all.

At my house, the phrase Straight Edge gets lots of use - a Straight Edge kid does not use alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, refrains from promiscuous sex, and more. They use "non-Edge" to refer to those who are less abstinent in some way. They also say someone "broke edge" if they drank alcohol or the like.

share|improve this answer
However a kid who does not use alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, etc. may not consider himself a Straight Edge kid if he doesn't like the Punk persona that goes with a Straight Edge lifestyle. – JLG Sep 23 '12 at 18:32
It's hardcore, not punk, but your point is taken – Kate Gregory Sep 23 '12 at 19:09
up vote 5 down vote

A teetotaler, or “person who completely abstains from alcoholic beverages”, has many opposites, ranging from social drinkers to drunkards and a thousand states between. See long list at wiktionary's Drinking Category, and synonym or related word lists at wordswarm.net (sot, toper, drunk, soak, tosspot, lush and many more, with definitions), dico.isc.cnrs.fr (alcoholic, boozer, dipsomaniac, drinker, drunk, inebriate, lush, rummy, sot, souse, tippler, wino, ...), onelook.com (sot, toper, souse, drunk, inebriate, rummy, wino, alcoholic, boozer, lush, bacchanal, dipsomaniac, soaker, tosspot, ...), et al. (The parenthesized lists after those three links are for drunkard.)

Also see the wikipedia article for teetotaler. At times during the 1800's, teetotaler referred not to just non-drinkers but more particularly to outspoken advocates of abstention from alcohol; opposites of such might be people with no opinions on the subject or of opposite opinions, a broad field. Note, the Etymology section of the article includes two possible explanations of the origin of teetotal.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.