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binge drinking
noun phrase

- drinking excessive amounts of alcohol in a short period of time

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WORD ORIGIN

The word binge stems from the dialectal (East Midlands) "binge," meaning to soak as in a wooden vessel. By extension, it refers to soaking up alcohol, essentially drinking large amounts of alcohol. The word is recorded in this sense as far back as the late 19th century. Binge is often used in the phrase "to go on a binge," meaning to drink excessively over a relatively short period of time.

There was a time when going on a binge was something that people merely laughed at. It was simply something that men in particular did from time to time. Young students, sailors and old friends could go on a binge and then the next day boast about how much they consumed while passing around a bottle of aspirin to counter the hangover.

Times change and so does expected social behaviour. Binge drinking, with its known health and safety risks, is generally disapproved of. In some countries like the UK, it is getting lots of attention in the press with pictures and film clips of young people drinking themselves into a coma in British pubs, while on vacation in places like Mallorca or at the famous Munich Oktoberfest.

Binge drinking even has an official definition in some countries. The National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism in the United States defines it as a pattern of drinking that brings a person’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) to 0.08 grams percent or above. This typically happens when men consume 5 or more drinks, and when women consume 4 or more drinks, in about 2 hours.

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SMUGGLE OWAD INTO TODAY'S CONVERSATION:
"Pubs and bars that offer all you can drink for a single price are contributing to the problem of binge drinking."