The Origin Of THe Term "Hungover"

[Me.]

“The lowest form of accommodation in Victorian England was access over a rope for a night for the price of a penny. Usually used by drunken sailors who had spent all their money drinking. It’s said to be the origin of the term “Hungover”.

Pic at link...

https://www.google.com/search?q=picture+of+drunk+victorian+sailors+bent+over+a+rope&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US fficial_s&hl=en&sxsrf=ALeKk03hjcEcW1WfHVD3LSBEtsKNF86zpQ:1592595720023&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=W2izbTxtWKiNwM%253A%252CP1dvT-wgE3uuQM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kSVqG6VbSIKUvob2VzL-cJg9sv8jQ&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjam6ax0Y7qAhVblnIEHaETC0UQ9QEwAXoECAgQBw&biw=873&bih=871#imgrc=2sabNjdlhTXyoM

Click on small pic and it will take you to a page full.

[shenmue]

1. Over a rope?

[Me.]

2. Yep

just bending over a rope and sleeping that way.

Trying to fix link to pic.

[AJT]

3. If I remember correctly, the rope is tued under your

armpits and tied off to the wall and you sort of sleep standing up with the rope holding you up.

[Me.]

4. My God

I can't even imagine, though these pics show the men bent over.

[AJT]

6. That must be the even cheaper option....a shared rope....

[chowder66]

5. Not according to this

snip

None whatsoever, but it’s yet another good example of people jumping to completely the wrong conclusion on the basis of knowing a bit of esoteric information.
There really was once a sleeping system like that. The principal reference I have for it is George Orwell’s Down and Out in Paris and London of 1933: “At the Twopenny Hangover, the lodgers sit in a row on a bench; there is a rope in front of them, and they lean on this as though leaning over a fence. A man, humorously called the valet, cuts the rope at five in the morning. I have never been there myself, but Bozo had been there often. I asked him whether anyone could possibly sleep in such an attitude, and he said that it was more comfortable than it sounded — at any rate, better than bare floor.” It’s mentioned in a work of a century earlier, The Magic Skin by Honor� de Balzac, which was translated into English by Ellen Marriage in 1895: “We ... made it a point of honour to find out whether you were roosting in a tree in the Champs-Elys�es, or in one of those philanthropic abodes where the beggars sleep on a twopenny rope.”

The connection sounds pretty convincing, with Orwell actually using hangover to describe the method. But the historical evidence for the word in the alcoholic sense shows that it’s from the idea of something that remains or is left over — a remainder or survival or after-effect — not of a person literally being hung over anything.

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-han4.htm
about the author: http://www.worldwidewords.org/personal.htm

and this

hangover (n.)
also hang-over, 1894, "a survival, a thing left over from before," from hang (v.) + over. Meaning "after-effect of excessive drinking" is attested by 1902, American English, on notion of something left over from the night before. As an adjective, in reference to a person, overhung (1964) has been used but is rare; that word meaning generally "placed so as to project or jut out" (1708).

https://www.etymonline.com/word/hangover

[Me.]

7. So We Have Opposing Theories...:)

I'll stick to mine from Victorianian times

[chowder66]

8. I honestly like yours better but I couldn't get the link to work

and found the other ones.

[Me.]

9. Damn

I am having trouble with links today. I had a different one a friend sent so I went to google and put in... picture of drunk victorian sailors bent over a rope... and this is the one I got. I'll try again.

Thanks for the heads up, it worked for me so I assumed it would work for all.

Try this...

https://www.google.com/search?rls=org.mozilla:en-US&sxsrf=ALeKk029WbQuED4xTpIWHZq3sgV1rUYMNg:1592597878816&source=univ&tbm=isch&q=picture+of+drunk+victorian+sailors+bent+over+a+rope&client=firefox-a&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjNwdi22Y7qAhXloHIEHesPBnIQ7Al6BAgBEBk&biw=873&bih=871

[chowder66]

15. That link worked.

I found this which is interesting.


The four penny coffin (also referred to as a coffin house) is a Victorian term that described one of the first homeless shelters to be created for the people of central London. It was operated by the Salvation Army during the late 19th and early 20th centuries to provide comfort and aid to its destitute clients.

The Salvation Army operated other homeless shelters in the area. These shelters charged the clients different amounts depending on the amenities offered. At the low end was a penny sit-up, where a homeless client could get food and shelter from the cold in exchange for a penny. He was allowed to sit on a bench all night, but was not allowed to sleep. For an additional penny, there was the "two penny hangover". It was like a penny sit-up except that a rope was placed in front of the bench. The client was allowed to sleep when he leaned on (or hung over) the rope during the night. He was not allowed to lie down flat on his back and sleep. For four pennies, a homeless client could stay at a coffin house.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_penny_coffin

[Me.]

17. Damn (again)

Not allowed to sleep...what people have gone through

[sir pball]

10. The sleeping arrangement was one of the earliest homeless shelters

Run by the Salvation Army in Victorian London. For a penny, you got to sit upright on a bench, awake, for the night. For two pennies you got the bench with the rope, you could slump forward and sleep upright. For four pennies, you got a spot in a literal coffin, lined up in rows on the floor. I suppose it beat the cold street..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_penny_coffin

[Me.]

14. So Very Interesting

while at the same time horrifying

[chowder66]

16. Ha! I missed this post and just posted the same. : )

[Celerity]

12. Pic

[Me.]

13. Ah

may Lady Karma turn your month into gold.

[pansypoo53219]

18. also cheap bed for slum dwellers. lucky ones could sit + use the rope.

[Me.]

19. Helluva Way To Spend A Life

[pansypoo53219]

20. PBS's slum house made poverty look worse back then.