Dictionary

Christmas drinker en · NOUN

Etymology

Suggests that the person only drinks alcohol at or around Christmas.

Meanings

1. (Ireland, UK) Someone who only drinks alcohol very occasionally: ▸ A near-teetotaller; someone who drinks very small quantities of alcohol.
   • Even though she was just a Christmas drinker, a birthday drinker, a genteel port-and-lemonade drinker, she gave up alcohol altogether after the accident. 1991, Robert Drewe, The Bay of Contented Men:
   • A drinks table, but our girl was no drinker. A couple of thimbles had been taken out of the whisky, the gin and the sherry. She was what I'd call a Christmas drinker. I'm not. So I poured myself a whisky. 1999, Alan Wall, Richard Dadd in Bedlam, and Other Stories, Harvill Secker:
   • He’s mainly a Christmas drinker. He does it maybe half a dozen times a year. 2023 January 19, Andy Bull, “‘If you could walk straight you carried on’: why 55 amateurs are launching legal action against rugby authorities”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 31 Mar 2023:
2. (Ireland, UK) Someone who only drinks alcohol very occasionally: ▸ Someone who binges at Christmas, but rarely or never visits pubs at other times of year.
   • “Ninety-eight per cent of those who have contacted me have got the joke,” he said. “The other 2 per cent are Christmas drinkers.” 2014 December 18, Patrick Kidd, “The pub guide for Christmas drinkers”, in The Times, archived from the original on 08 Jun 2026:

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