Green’s Dictionary of Slang

stale drunk adj.

hungover.

1823		Egan Grose’s Classical Dict. of the Vulgar Tongue n.p.: Stale Drunk A person is said to be stale drunk when they feel languid after a night’s debauch.
1833		Exeter & Plymouth Gaz. 21 Dec. 3/1: Deceased was what I call ‘stale drunk’ when he left my house.
1840		Bell’s Wkly Messenger 19 July 6/1: ‘I warnt drunk [...] I wos what we call stale drunk; the liquor was dying in me’.
1849		Sussex Advertiser 6 Feb. 7/2: The complainant came into the house ‘stale drunk’ from a ball over night.
1859		Brighton Gaz. 24 Mar. 5/3: ‘Now, was not the prosecutor dunk?’ Witness — ‘Yes; but he had been much drunker (laughter). He was what we might call stale drunk’.
1869		Pall Mall Gaz. 4 Oct. 5/1: Golder [...] was said to be stale drunk.
1877		Sussex Advertiser 23 Jan. 6/5: He served them with a pint of ale each before he noticed that they were ‘stale drunk’.
1888		H. King Savage London 18: Billy’s eyes were in ‘half-mourning.’ He had hardly recovered from the effects of a Sunday carouse, and to use his own expression, was ‘stale drunk’.
1893		South Wales Star 28 July 7/2: Defendant thereupon struck him a violent blow in the face [...] Defendant was ‘stale drunk’.
1902		Cheltenham Chron. 25 Oct. 5/4: Mrs Ward was what was known as being ‘stale drunk’.
1909		Henley & Sth Oxford Standard 16 Apr. 2/2: Austin was ‘stale drunk’ and Supt. Porter said that he had threatened to drown himself.
1920		Tamworth Herald 14 Aug. 6/3: Willsden was stale drunk.