# it's not necking it



## beauxyeux

Topic: is it right teens drink wine?

"I think responsible drinking around meal time is a different way of using alcohol; *it's not necking it* at happy hour with your peer group."

I don't understand the part in bold. Any idea?
Thanks


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## london calling

Judging by this article in the Daily Telegraph, it means quality, not quantity:

_A mio avviso, bere alcolici ai pasti è un modo diverso, responsabile, di consumare alcool; non è come buttarlo giù in quantità industriali con gli amici durante l'happy hour._

A very loose translation, I'm afraid!


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## coeurdenids

*Necking it* is an expression that could be translated as "da bere senza fermarsi". 

It means holding the bottle by the neck, "il collo (gambo?)" della bottiglia, un simbolo che la persona e professionista nell'arte da bere.


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## london calling

coeurdenids said:


> *Necking it* is an expression that could be translated as "bere senza fermarsi".


It's "collo" in Italian and you've just confirmed what I thought, thanks!


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## beauxyeux

Ok, capito! In italiano possiamo usare anche "ingollare"... non avevo proprio pensato a questo significato!

Grazie mille!


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## coeurdenids

L'immagine classica e questa: due diti incrociati sul collo della bottiglia, un ginocchio crociato, sta appoggiando sul bar, con baffoni, se volessi, lunghi capelli, camicia di tagliaboschi, i bigliardi in fondo. Capisci?


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## beauxyeux

coeurdenids said:


> L'immagine classica e  è questa: due ditia incrociatie sul collo della bottiglia, un ginocchio crociato a squadra, il tipo sta appoggiandto sul bar, con baffoni, se volessie volendo, lunghi capelli, camicia da tagliaboschi, i bigliardi in  sullo sfondo. Capisci?



Molto efficace! Ma qualcuno di voi ha trovato questo significato del verbo *neck* su qualche dizionario? Su quelli che ho guardato io non c'era...


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## You little ripper!

UK slang

_*neck *Verb. 1. To kiss passionately. {Informal}_
*2. To swallow (something), imbibe, drink. E.g."Oh Jesus! I'm well hungover;          I necked nine pints last night."*


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## effeundici

coeurdenids said:


> L'immagine classica e questa: due diti incrociati sul collo della bottiglia, un ginocchio crociato, sta appoggiando sul bar, con baffoni, se volessi, lunghi capelli, camicia di tagliaboschi, i bigliardi in fondo. Capisci?


 
Un ginocchio crociato 
Le gambe accavallate 

Ciao


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## coeurdenids

Grazie tante per le correzioni _impeccabili_!

C'e tant'altri verbi "italianizzati" come "blablatare" "zigzaggare", e "neck" o suo gerondio "necking" e veramente falso ma accettato nei casi letterali.

Although Charles has found it in the UK dictionary.


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## beauxyeux

Charles Costante said:


> UK slang
> 
> _*neck *Verb. 1. To kiss passionately. {Informal}_
> *2. To swallow (something), imbibe, drink. E.g."Oh Jesus! I'm well hungover;          I necked nine pints last night."*



Thanks Charles, so it's a slang. Actually  I had only found the first meaning.


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## Alxmrphi

> un simbolo che la persona e professionista nell'arte da bere.


You do mean this sarcastically don't you?
It's a fairly common thing to say here and it's nearly always referring to someone drinking quickly / excessively, or for hobos/tramps.......

Nobody "professional" would 'neck something' (drink) where I'm from.. does it have this meaning where you're from (or was it sarcastic)?


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## tedgale

Extraordinary. I wager this idiom is totally unknown in North America.


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## Alxmrphi

tedgale said:


> Extraordinary. I wager this idiom is totally unknown in North America.



I would guess so, (what about Canada?)


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## tedgale

Certainly unknown in Canada. "To neck" and "necking" meant only one thing (1940-1970) -- to kiss passionately at length. 

The specialized slang term for rapid drinking was (in my youth) and perhaps still is "to chug/chugging" -- generally used about beer drinking. 

Buttarlo giu = "tossing it back".


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## Arrius

This use of *necking* is new to me.  I have hitherto understood it only as a synonym of British *snogging* or American *petting,* which are usually the equivalent of* tedgale'*s  *chugging* (of which, however, I had never heard), anything more serious than kissing and short of penetration being (American)* heavy petting*.  I think that many of my compatriots would not understand _necking_  in the sense of the thread. *Guzzling* for the same idea every British person would understand.  Or *swilling it down/ knocking it back. (*Never heard of* tossing it back* either*).*


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## Alxmrphi

Arrius said:


> This use of *necking* is new to me. I have hitherto understood it only as a synonym of British *snogging* or American *petting,* which are usually the equivalent of* tedgale'*s *chugging* (of which, however, I had never heard), anything more serious than kissing and short of penetration being (American)* heavy petting*. I think that many of my compatriots would not understand _necking_ in the sense of the thread. *Guzzling* for the same idea every British person would understand. Or *swilling it down/ knocking it back. (*Never heard of* tossing it back* either*).*


 
I imagine the same, it's quite colloquial slang, like even where there is slang, the even more colloquial form, it's hard to keep up sometime! Even with me, who is around it all the time.


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## beauxyeux

What you are saying it's of some  relief to me...  as I thought I was the only one who didn't understand it! 
But I assure you that what I'm translating is a collection of articles written by a famous journalist who writes on The Times....
A part from this, the article London Calling put the link to was written in 2004.... This is the way how languages change and it's amazing, isn't it?
So I'm happy many natives didn't know the meaning of that verb...

Thanks to all


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## neuromatico

tedgale said:


> Certainly unknown in Canada. "To neck" and "necking" meant only one thing (*1940-1970*) -- to kiss passionately at length.
> 
> The specialized slang term for rapid drinking was (in my youth) and perhaps still is "to chug/chugging" -- generally used about beer drinking.  And don't forget "chug-a-lugging"!


O Canada!


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## Delphicorc

I agree with the other Canadian posters 'necking it' is not used in NA and is likely uniquely British.  But hand it to the British they do come up with colourful and apt idioms.  If one thinks about it people who have had a bit too much to drink do tend to hold their drinks sloppily by the neck or the top of the handle - if there is one.  Accordingly, it is an insightful way to describe people who are drinking irresponsibly or at least a bit too casually.


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## Zainyx

I'd agree that it's probably only a British turn of phrase. As far as I'm aware though, it refers more to the act of pouring something down your neck (the whole chugging thing) rather than anything to do with necks of bottles. I'm no expert, but that's the impression I've got. It's certainly possible to neck something that doesn't come in a bottle.


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## Delphicorc

Zainyx:  just after posting my original thought it occurred to me that it more probably means what you are saying - in any event it certainly refers to excessive drinking.


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## Arrius

We already have the neologism *binge drinking* x-----x, i.e. over-indulgence in booze mainly on the part of the young, and don't really need a new use of the word _necking_ that has for many decades since it was imported from the USA had a far more pleasant meaning in slang. _Binge drinking_ already implies up-ending a bottle.
I wish I didn't have to ask other people the meaning of various unfamiliar terms in the "Daily Mirror" every time I go back to Blighty.


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## Alxmrphi

It's quite different from binge drinking (generalism) , it'd only ever refer to a specific instance, I would not expect it to appear in any newspaper (and would be very surprised if it has).
But I guess it's the price you have to pay for living the life in a nice hot foreign country (and definitely worth it Arrius! )


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## london calling

Alxmrphi said:


> It's quite different from binge drinking (generalism) , it'd only ever refer to a specific instance, I would not expect it to appear in any newspaper (and would be very surprised if it has).


Did you see the link in my first post?
The Daily Telegraph uses it!


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## london calling

london calling said:


> Judging by this article in the Daily Telegraph, it means quantity, not quality:
> 
> _A mio avviso, bere alcolici ai pasti è un modo diverso, responsabile, di consumare alcool; non è come buttarlo giù in quantità industriali con gli amici durante l'happy hour._
> 
> A very loose translation, I'm afraid!


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## Alxmrphi

Ah, I am surprised, maybe it is passing into a more recognised usage, I thought it was still just something said around the young(ish) generation


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## Arrius

The British media use (_sic)_ slang to a probably excessive extent, including the latest kind, which politicians also use sometimes to sound trendy and endear themselves to the populace. It was from the BBC that I recently learnt "get sorted" (minus the out) and "he bottled it" meaning _he was cowardly._


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## tedgale

So necking means kissing but necking it means drinking with abandon, while bottling it, which might equally have meant "drinking freely", actually means showing cowardice and bottling it up means showing a stiff upper lip. Got that sorted??

English is rich in words, even richer in idiom -- not all of it useful.


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## beauxyeux

tedgale said:


> So necking means kissing but necking it means drinking with abandon, while bottling it, which might equally have meant "drinking freely", actually means showing cowardice and bottling it up means showing a stiff upper lip. Got that sorted??
> 
> English is rich in words, even richer in idiom -- not all of it useful.



Wow! This is what I love of it... it's a kind of jigsaw every time I try to break it off and reassemble again in my own language!


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## Arrius

I think Italian *ingollare* (to knock it back/guzzle/ingurgitate) is, significantly, connected with *collo* (neck), the C changed to G because of the N, which has the same idea as this "necking". I'm pretty certain, too, that I have heard "Get that down your neck!" too when being offered a drink. I don't think the neck of the bottle has anything to do with it. As for *chugging*, that must be onomatopoeic and derive from the noise of liquid being poured from an upturned bottle (glug, glug, glug! being the more usual orthograohic representation).


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## Alxmrphi

tedgale said:


> So necking means kissing but necking it means drinking with abandon, while bottling it, which might equally have meant "drinking freely", actually means showing cowardice and bottling it up means showing a stiff upper lip. Got that sorted??
> 
> English is rich in words, even richer in idiom -- not all of it useful.


 
Pretty much! We could go into a lot more detail, but that is for a different thread


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## You little ripper!

Arrius said:


> I'm pretty certain, too, that I have heard "Get that down your neck!" too when being offered a drink.


You would have heard it if you've been to Australia. The British use it also.

get that down your neck

get that down your neck


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## tedgale

Or chugging could be the sound of the rapid succession of swallows the person must make when trying to consume a bottle of beer without removing the bottle from his lips. 

Here in Canada, your friends shout "Chug! Chug! Chug!"* while you do it. 

(*Dimly remembered from my bachelor party of 5 years ago. As all the male friends were straight and I was marrying my middle-aged male partner, the enforced "Lager lout" behaviour was utterly grotesque ....but very funny.)


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