--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: when I spoke of having a drink, it was a…" description: "\"when I spoke of having a drink, it was a euphemism for having a whole flock of them.\" — Margaret Halsey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/margaret-halsey-6554_alcoholism_when-i-spoke-of-having-a-drink-it-was-a_2564903.jpg" --- # when I spoke of having a drink, it was a euphemism for… ![“when I spoke of having a drink, it was a euphemism for having a whole flock of them.” quote by Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/margaret-halsey-6554_alcoholism_when-i-spoke-of-having-a-drink-it-was-a_2564903.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/margaret-halsey-6554_alcoholism_when-i-spoke-of-having-a-drink-it-was-a_2564903.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/764/margaret-halsey-6554_alcoholism_when-i-spoke-of-having-a-drink-it-was-a_2564903.jpg) > “when I spoke of having a drink, it was a euphemism for having a whole flock of them.” [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A casual reference to a drink actually meant a large group of drinks, highlighting hyperbole. **In simple terms:** Said “drink” meant many drinks. Key Takeaway Beware of exaggerated language. Themes humor hyperbole communication Mood playful cautionary Type literary conversational When to use this quote - party planning - writing - marketing pitches Key Concepts Exaggeration social interaction Questions to Reflect On - When have you used hyperbole for effect? - Does exaggeration help or hinder? A Different Perspective None; context may be misunderstood. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alcoholism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alcoholism/) [Drink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drink/) [Drink Euphemism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drink-euphemism-1639916/) [Drinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drinking/) [Euphemism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/euphemism/) [Euphemism Having](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/euphemism-having-1639918/) [Flock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flock/) [Flocks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flocks/) [Having Flock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/having-flock-1639917/) [Spokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spokes/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) [Wine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wine/) ## Related quotes > [Where food trucks are concerned, nothing's better than having a whole flock of them at one location. Competition not only improves the quality of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sietsema/where-food-trucks-are-concerned-nothing-s-better-than-having-a-whole/) [Robert Sietsema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sietsema/) > [Max—you have a bigger mission than finding the flock's parents. Focus on helping the whole world, not just your friends. I held my wings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/max-you-have-a-bigger-mission-than-finding-the-flock-s-parents-focus/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [I looked around. As flock leader, everyone was expecting me to make a decision. Jeb's presence here would bring uncertainty, chaos, probably danger. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-patterson/i-looked-around-as-flock-leader-everyone-was-expecting-me-to-make-a/) [James Patterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-patterson/) > [Everything about Christianity is contained in the pathetic image of 'the flock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/everything-about-christianity-is-contained-in-the-pathetic-image-of/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [A leader. . .is like a shepherd. He stays behind the flock, letting the most nimble go out ahead, whereupon the others follow, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/a-leader-is-like-a-shepherd-he-stays-behind-the-flock-letting-the/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [A flock of blessings light upon thy back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/a-flock-of-blessings-light-upon-thy-back/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Birds of a feather really do flock together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/birds-of-a-feather-really-do-flock-together/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [We laugh heartily to see a whole flock of sheep jump because one did so. Might not one imagine that superior beings do the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-fulke-greville/we-laugh-heartily-to-see-a-whole-flock-of-sheep-jump-because-one-did/) [Sir Fulke Greville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-fulke-greville/) > [Miserable creatures, thrown for a moment on the surface of this little pile of mud, is it decreed that one half of the flock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/miserable-creatures-thrown-for-a-moment-on-the-surface-of-this-little/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [I don't know how to tell it--but ef such a thing could be As the angels wantin' boardin', and they'd call around on me--…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-whitcomb-riley/i-don-t-know-how-to-tell-it-but-ef-such-a-thing-could-be-as-the/) [James Whitcomb Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-whitcomb-riley/) > [There is not much collective security in a flock of sheep on the way to the butcher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/there-is-not-much-collective-security-in-a-flock-of-sheep-on-the-way/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [To be a good shepherd is to shear the flock, not skin it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiberius/to-be-a-good-shepherd-is-to-shear-the-flock-not-skin-it/) [Tiberius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiberius/) > [There are two kinds of leaders: those who are interested in the flock, and those who are interested in the fleece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-esar/there-are-two-kinds-of-leaders-those-who-are-interested-in-the-flock/) [Evan Esar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-esar/) > [“Without this flock, I would be worthless. Without the people in this flock, I'd be empty. Without the people who started this flock, I'd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-a-thompson/without-this-flock-i-would-be-worthless-without-the-people-in-this/) [Shannon A. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-a-thompson/) > [Men are like sheep, of which a flock is more easily driven than a single one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/men-are-like-sheep-of-which-a-flock-is-more-easily-driven-than-a/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) ## More by Margaret Halsey > [Life itself, however, flows and is sequential and punishes those who try to compartmentalize it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/life-itself-however-flows-and-is-sequential-and-punishes-those-who/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [the crucial disadvantage of aggression, competitiveness and skepticism as national characteristics is that these qualities cannot be turned off at five o'clock.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/the-crucial-disadvantage-of-aggression-competitiveness-and-skepticism/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [Englishwomen's shoes look as if they had been made by someone who had often heard shoes described, but had never seen any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/englishwomen-s-shoes-look-as-if-they-had-been-made-by-someone-who-had/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [it is a waste of time to ask more of people than they have to give.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/it-is-a-waste-of-time-to-ask-more-of-people-than-they-have-to-give/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [I would have felt more comfortable on a girder fifty floors above the street, catching white-hot rivets in a pail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/i-would-have-felt-more-comfortable-on-a-girder-fifty-floors-above-the/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [The position of children as a group, in a commercial society, is not wholly advantageous. 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Identity is built.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/identity-is-not-found-the-way-pharaoh-s-daughter-found-moses-in-the/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [I am living with a rising generation which talks like people coming out of ether.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/i-am-living-with-a-rising-generation-which-talks-like-people-coming/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [children are an embarrassment to a business civilization. A business society needs children for the same reason that a nomadic or a pastoral society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/children-are-an-embarrassment-to-a-business-civilization-a-business/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [The only way not to worry about the race problem is to be doing something about it yourself. When you are, natural human vanity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/the-only-way-not-to-worry-about-the-race-problem-is-to-be-doing/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [Employed as I had been employing it, liquor is a fixative of old patterns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/employed-as-i-had-been-employing-it-liquor-is-a-fixative-of-old/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [in the comparatively short time between my childhood and my daughter's, the business society has ceased urging people to produce and is now exerting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/in-the-comparatively-short-time-between-my-childhood-and-my-daughter/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [A person may be totally unimaginative and have the social vision of a mole, and we still call him a decent man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/a-person-may-be-totally-unimaginative-and-have-the-social-vision-of-a/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) > [Infants, I note with envy, are receptive to enjoyment in a degree not attained by adults this side of the new Jerusalem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-halsey/infants-i-note-with-envy-are-receptive-to-enjoyment-in-a-degree-not/) [Margaret Halsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) [Explore all 98 Margaret Halsey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-halsey/) ## More Alcoholism quotes > [And, when night Darkens the streets, then wander forth the sons Of Belial, flown with insolence and wine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/and-when-night-darkens-the-streets-then-wander-forth-the-sons-of/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) > [“I am made of a thousand ghosts. Only you can shoot me down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-james/i-am-made-of-a-thousand-ghosts-only-you-can-shoot-me-down/) [Bella James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-james/) > [“Alcoholism is a choice... not a life sentence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-norman/alcoholism-is-a-choice-not-a-life-sentence/) [David Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-norman/) > [If you decide on having an alcoholic at your party, make sure it's a large gathering. This way, until the alcoholic begins removing their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/if-you-decide-on-having-an-alcoholic-at-your-party-make-sure-it-s-a/) [Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/) > [There are plenty of alcoholics who can be magnificent when drunk: it does not make them any less alcoholic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ingrid-bengis/there-are-plenty-of-alcoholics-who-can-be-magnificent-when-drunk-it/) [Ingrid Bengis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ingrid-bengis/) > [“If you threw Elvis and a scarecrow in a blender, topped the whole thing off with Seagram's 7 and pressed dice, you would make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-portes/if-you-threw-elvis-and-a-scarecrow-in-a-blender-topped-the-whole/) [Andrea Portes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-portes/) > [The fun, joy, and humor dry up in a relationship when one of the partners is swimming in gin. To my way of thinking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginger-rogers/the-fun-joy-and-humor-dry-up-in-a-relationship-when-one-of-the/) [Ginger Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginger-rogers/) > [“Bourbon, Kentucky bourbon especially, is like Dante’s Inferno in a glass, fire walks down your throat, lungs, and heart and everything in between with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-crown/bourbon-kentucky-bourbon-especially-is-like-dante-s-inferno-in-a/) [Bruce Crown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-crown/) > [“There are various reasons why an individual might habitually consume large quantities of alcohol, but they all effectively boil down to the same thing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/there-are-various-reasons-why-an-individual-might-habitually-consume/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [He who has once taken to drink can seldom be said to be guilty of one sin only.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-more/he-who-has-once-taken-to-drink-can-seldom-be-said-to-be-guilty-of-one/) [Hannah More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-more/) > [I was drunk: Christian and drunk. 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