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Reed Richards says:

"Amazing! Psycho-Man's ship is so massive that its gravity has trapped an atmosphere shell around the hull!"

His wife asks him "What now, Reed?", but is the Thing who answer to her "Ah, give that tall drink you call yer husband a break, Suzy! He can't be thinking all the time!"

I know what tall drink is, but I did not understand what the Thing mean by saying "Ah, give that tall drink you call yer husband a break, Suzy!"

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Ah, give that tall drink you call yer husband a break, Suzy!

A "tall drink (of water)" means a tall person. Yer is eye-dialect for your. So what the Thing is saying is equivalent to:

Ah, give that tall person you call your husband a break, Suzy!

which we can further simplify as:

Ah, give that tall person (who you call your husband) a break, Suzy!

Of course, "give a break" to someone means to cease further criticism of or demands upon them.

So the original sentence means, "Cease your demands upon that tall person, your husband!"

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  • Is that all that's meant by "tall drink of water"? I don't have a citation handy, but where I've seen it used, context seemed a bit derogatory, suggesting that the person in question was boring or dull.
    – Nate Eldredge
    Apr 20, 2012 at 1:46
  • According to the Urban Dictionary: n. 1. A man or woman that is tall, gorgeous, and super delicious. Like on a hot day, a tall drink of water is absolutely appealing. 2. Old slang for a visually appealing man or woman.
    – Sebastián Grignoli
    Jun 16, 2012 at 0:17
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    I think that in this case the speaker is adding the connotation that the husband is a better man than Suzy seems to realize. It's a compliment to him.
    – Sebastián Grignoli
    Jun 16, 2012 at 0:24
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    Also, I think that the visual appeal of the person is the characteristic that the expression is trying to remark, not his height. Like in "The guy is attractive like a tall drink in the desert." But you shold not call a short person a tall drink, or it would sound like you are mocking him instead of complimenting him.
    – Sebastián Grignoli
    Jun 16, 2012 at 0:32

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