Shaggy Dogs & Black Sheep by Albert Jack

October 16th 2005


Bottom's Up

When drinking with friends, it is not unusual for someone to announce 'Bottoms Up!' as the session begins. Many imagine this to be the action of draining a glass so that the bottom is raised higher than our lips.

Not so; in fact, events in history once again provide the root of this well-known phrase. During the 18th and 19th centuries, English press gangs would coerce drinkers in London's dockside pubs into joining the armed forces, usually the navy. Men who accepted the 'King's shilling' were deemed to have willingly contracted to join the navy, and this led to unscrupulous behaviour by the commissioned press gangs.


One of their dishonest techniques was to drop a shilling into the pint pot of a drunk or unsuspecting man, which would go undetected until the poor chap had drained his tankard. Once the shilling was discovered, the press gangers claimed to others that this was proof a payment had been accepted, and the victim would then be dragged away to wake up the following morning on board a ship far out to sea, unaware of what had happened to him the night before.

The unfortunate fellow might then spend years on the ocean wave. Once public houses and drinkers became aware of this scam, they introduced tankards with transparent bases (which can still be found hanging in many pubs to this day) and customers would be reminded to lift the pint up and check the bottom for illicit shillings before they began drinking.