Green’s Dictionary of Slang

to drink (greedily); to eat voraciously, thus guzzler, a voracious eater or drinker.

1607		Dekker & Webster Westward Hoe V i: My master, and Sir Gozlin are guzling; they are dabling together fathom deepe.
1630		J. Taylor ‘Taylors Goose’ in Works (1869) I 110: Such swearing, drabbing, dancing, dicing, toyling, / Such shifting, sharking, cheating, smoaking, stinking, / Such Gormondizing, cramming, guzling, drinking.
1669		R. L’Estrange Supplement of Fables (1692) CCCCXX 392: They fell to Lapping and Guzzling, ’till in one Word, they Burst themselves.
1680		‘Poet’s Dream’ in Ebsworth Roxburghe Ballads (1893) VII:1 12: She’d guzzel brandy, wine, or ale, / And then she’d at her neighbours rail.
1694		Congreve Double-Dealer I i: I’m weary of guzzling.
1699		Farquhar Love and a Bottle I i: His Education could reach no farther than to guzzle fat Ale, smoak Tobaco, and chop Logick.
1708		J. Hall Memoirs (1714) 10: The Cellar, (where poor relentless Sinners are guzzelling in the midst of Debauchery, and New-invented Oaths, which rumble like Thunder through their filthy Throats).
1709		N. Ward Compleat and Humorous Account of Remarkable Clubs (1756) 54: Thus guzzle down Malt Dregs till every one had his Belly full.
1713		W. King York Spy 46: By that time we had guzzled a Pint of Porters Belch.
1727		Swift ‘Love Poem from a Physician to his Mistress’ in Chalmers Eng. Poets XI (1810) 462/1: Small-beer I guzzle till I burst.
1734		J. Gay Distress’d Wife II viii: The Girl is so cramm’d already, that she can’t guzzle down a Drop more.
1744		Dyche & Pardon New General Eng. Dict. (4th edn) n.p.: Guzzle To tipple, to fuddle, to drink much and greedily.
1754		A. Hamilton Tuesday Club Bk XIII in Micklus (1995) 308: The Poet Guzzles punch and Grog.
1762		Foote Orators in Works (1799) I 220: I did not think it was decent [...] to be guzzling a pot of porter.
1772		Bridges Burlesque Homer (3rd edn) 61: And then we all must be content / To guzzle down pure element.
1781		Hicky’s Bengal Gaz. 2-9 June n.p.: The inexpressible Grief and disappointment of all Guzzlers, Gormandizers, Topers, Tiplers, and Devourers.
1785		‘Peter Pindar’ ‘Lousiad’ Works (1794) I 287: And all day in munchin spent, And guzzlin, too, no doubt.
1795		‘A Peep into a Whiskey-Shop’ in A. Carpenter Verse in Eng. in 18C Ireland (1998) 520: He guzel’d it [i.e. a glass of whisky] up in a hurry.
1796		G. Colman Yngr Iron Chest III i: Leave this idle guzzling, if you have any shame.
1807		Irving & Paulding Salmagundi (1860) 233: A host of guzzling friends.
1818		M.L. Weems Drunkard’s Looking Glass (1929) 113: He guzzles down every dollar of his children’s property.
1821		Tom Shuttle and Blousalinda 8: Love so much his wits had cross’d [...] Much the ale he guzzled.
1830		J.B. Skillman N.Y. Police Reports 41: Elizabeth Guzzle is in the habit of guzzling, and breaking the peace of her peaceable neighbours.
1832		Satirist (London) 9 Dec. 397/4: He knows to a penny what it ought cost to send the city guzzlers reeling home to bed.
1833		‘Coalheaver’s Feast’ Fun Alive O! 61: Out of tea kettles then they guzzled the gin.
1840		Flash Mirror 24: [We] guzzled two or three kevarts o’ gatter.
1841		‘Gin! The Gin!’ Dublin Comic Songster 299: And Death, whene’er it comes so grim, / Shall find me guzzling Hodge’s gin.
1842		Wkly Rake (NY) 24 Sept. n.p.: ‘[W]ho are that couple guzzling with those she-devils?’ .
1856		G.G. Foster N.Y. by Gas-Light (1990) 108: The maudlin greenhorns [...] who guzzle down the nefarious stuff.
1861		N.E. Police Gaz. (Boston, MA) 12 Oct. 6/4: What is Mrs Wh—er [...] the ale guzzler, doing so much in old Gordon F.T—er’s room after midnight.
1869		C.G. Leland ‘Breitmann in Politics’ Hans Breitmann About Town 59: Of your oder shtinkin hobits / No vordt needt bier pe set. / Shtop goozlin bier – shtop shmokin bipes / Shtop rootin in de mire.
1874		J. Greenwood Wilds of London (1881) 348: His dram-drinking customers [...] are permitted to guzzle until they are drunk.
1887		J.W. Horsley Jottings from Jail 139: Guzzling, gorging, beastly drunkenness, and worse things still, are being done to-day in the name of being merry.
1899		H. Lawson ‘Boozers’ Home’ in Roderick (1972) 317: I’m not taking the case of [...] a slum-bred brute who guzzles for the love of it.
1901		‘Punter Bill’ ‘Clibborn’s Crooked Crew’ in Sydney Sportsman (Surry Hills, NSW) 10 Apr. 1/6: But returnin to the toffs, sir, / Them what guzzles of the fiz.
1903		A.H. Lewis Boss 92: Strong-Arm Dan and those others, surprised in the midst of that guzzling I had paid for, [...] were running or staggering or crawling for shelter.
1915		Colville Examiner (WA) 30 Jan. 1/3: Whiskey-soaked, rum-guzzling, gin-guzzling politicians.
1916		J. Buchan Greenmantle (1930) 217: He was a new thing in my experience and I didn’t like it. If only he had drunk and guzzled a bit I should have been happier.
1927		H. Asbury Gangs of N.Y. 28: Low class thugs and hoodlums soon began to invade them, not to drink beer but to guzzle hard liquor from flasks.
1934		M. Fulcher ‘Believe Me’ in Afro-American (Baltimore, MD) 4 Aug. 13/5: That is all well and good for those that drink the aforementioned drinks, but what about the corn guzzlers?
1936		R.F. Adams Cowboy Lingo 236: He proceeds to guzzle snake pizen.
1939		(con. 1880–90s) S. O’Casey I Knock at the Door 79: He watched the big heads and big hands guzzling down their eggs and tea and meat.
1947		F. Brown Fabulous Clipjoint (1949) 67: Not so fast [...] You can kill yourself guzzling that stuff fast when you’re not used to it.
1953		J. Thompson Alcoholics (1993) 100: You sit in here guzzling all morning.
1965		W. Dick Bunch of Ratbags 58: There’s gonna be a helluva lot of ’em today, the way the drunks are guzzlin’.
1969		‘Iceberg Slim’ Mama Black Widow 148: That rot gut gin he guzzles has him seeing what is not.
1971		K. Gilbert Cherry Pickers III ii: I’m sick o’ guzzlin’ [...] home-made plonk.
1979		E. Torres After Hours 43: I’m guzzlin’ vino by the kilo.
1981		J. Ellroy Brown’s Requiem 38: Polaroids of bar regulars playing softball and guzzling brew.
1986		R.G. Barrett Godson 76: ‘I don’t fancy sitting here watching him guzzle bottles of champagne’.
1990		S. Morgan Homeboy 25: The Manager gave him all the free bourbon he could guzzle.
1999		K. Sampson Powder 22: But then do we really want to be guzzling naughty champagne so soon before we go on?
2000		Observer Escape 27 Feb. 7: We guzzled foie gras.
2001		J. Stahl Plainclothes Naked (2002) 18: It turned out she’d been guzzling a quart of gin a day for years.
2008		Sun. Times (S.Afr.) 27 Jan. 24: Moss and her pals guzzled a lot of booze.
2010		J. Ellroy Hilliker Curse 7: I noticed a half-full jug of cheap wine [...] I guzzled it.
2020		(con. 1991-94) W. Boyle City of Margins 16: Donnie gets the bottle back [...] He guzzles it, drinking what’s left.
2024		C. Stella Joey Piss Pot 145: He guzzled the rest of his beer, then set the empty can on the floor.